Bezeq controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch and senior executives are being questioned in a securities violations probe.
The Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has announced that it commenced an overt investigation into Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) this morning. The investigation concerns suspected violations of the Securities Law and criminal law in relation to transactions involving the controlling shareholder, Shaul Elovitch. ISA investigators raided Bezeq's offices and detained senior Bezeq executives for questioning, Elovitch among them. Elovitch, Yes CEO Ron Eilon and others were taken from their homes straight to the ISA offices this morning and had their personal computers confiscated. The ISA has also conducted searches at the offices of satellite broadcaster Yes.
The ISA investigation follows exposés of party-at-interest transactions between Elovitch's Eurocom group and Bezeq itself: the merger of Yes into Bezeq, the accompanying tax settlement, and further payments that Eurocom collected after compelling Yes to freeze payments to suppliers in order to create a situation in which Yes would meet conditions enabling Eurocom to receive more money - NIS 140 million for Shaul Elovitch, to be precise.
Trading in Bezeq shares was halted after the ISA announcement. When it resumed, the share price fell by over 4%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 20, 2017
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017
Shaul Elovitch Photo: Rafi Kotz