Adv. Joseph Benkel, the special court-appointed administrator for Eliezer Fishman's assets, yesterday filed an ex parte petition for the issuing of court orders against Fishman's wife, Tova Fishman. As part of the petition, Benkel is seeking to prevent Tova Fishman from making any dispositions in her assets, which he says are worth at least tens of millions of shekels. Eliezer Fishman's wife has a number of assets, headed by the couple's home on Savyon, which is worth an estimated NIS 30 million. Judge Eitan Orenstein, who is hearing the case, refused to grant the ex parte petition and scheduled a hearing for January 8.
Benkel states that the Fishman family expanded its business through a tangled web of holding companies, subsidiaries, sub-subsidiaries, and sub-sub-subsidiaries. A substantial proportion of the shares in the holding companies at the head of the pyramid are registered in the name of Tova Fishman.
According to Benkel, together with Eliezer Fishman, Tova Fishman jointly owns various real estate properties in Israel and around the world, and bank accounts containing millions of shekels. "Tova Fishman currently owns assets that are unattached, as far as is known, with a total value in the tens of millions of shekels, at a conservative estimate, and probably more than that. Some of these are liquid, and can be used immediately," Benkel wrote in his petition.
The petition also states, "The requested court orders were designed to maintain the existing situation, and to enable the special administrator to complete his probe of the debtor's assets and his debts, including the debtor's wife's assets, which are subject to the same degree to use for repayment of the debts.
"An examination of the creditors settlement and the report of assets and liabilities submitted by Fishman highlights the fact that Eliezer and Tova Fishman are trying to give a clearly artificial impression of separation between his assets and those of his wife."
Two and a half weeks ago, Judge Orenstein ordered that Fishman's assets should be placed in receivership, in view of the NIS 5 billion debt to the banks and the Israel Tax Authority he has accumulated, which led to the legal proceedings. NIS 1.7 billion of this debt is unsecured. Fishman proposed a settlement for repayment of NIS 90 million, involving a write-off of 95% of the debt, and the Tax Authority rejected the proposal. Under the court order, Benkel was appointed as special administrator for Fishman's assets, and he is due to file his first report next month.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 29, 2016
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