Tel Aviv District Court Judge Sheli Timon today convicted Ofer Maximov of most counts in his indictment for embezzlement at the Trade Bank. Maximov, the brother of Esther Alon, who committed the embezzlement, was the principal beneficiary of the NIS 254 million embezzled.
Maximov was convicted of theft by an employee, aggravated fraud, deliberate forgery for purposes of aggravated fraud, use of a forged document, conducting property transactions in violation of the Prohibition on Money Laundering Law (5670-2000), and conspiracy to commit a crime.
In Alon’s trial, the Judge ruled that from March 1997 until her arrest in April 2002, Alon, who was deputy manager of investments at the Trade Bank; Maximov; and their father, Avigdor Maximov stole NIS 254 million from the bank and its customers through forgery, fraud, and other crimes.
Timon said he regarded Alon as a victim of her love, dedication, and concern for her brother, who had been the eldest and favorite son. The obligation she felt toward him was not merely the emotional attachment of any sister; it was also the result of her mentality and her role in the family.
Timon added that paying his enormous gambling debts was not the only use Maximov had made of money belonging to the bank’s customers. He had also used to maintain a life of luxury.
Pleadings for the sentence were postponed to a later date. Prosecution representatives said they planned to planned to ask the court for a severe sentence for Maximov, or at least the same 17-year prison term given to his sister.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on February 8, 2004