A lawsuit filed in the Tel Aviv District Court alleges that media corporation Yediot Ahronot has so far financed NIS 1.35 million in legal costs for its publisher Arnon (Noni) Mozes, even before a decision has been taken on whether to take his case to trial. The lawsuit was filed by Yediot Ahronot board member David Lieber, who claims that Moses's legal costs to defend a criminal case were not approved by the board.
Lieber represents the Yudkovsky family, which has a more than 10% stake in Yediot Ahronot. He is the husband of Etti Lieber Yudkovsky and the daughter of the late Dov Yudkovsky, the legendary editor of Yediot Ahronot. Etti Yudkovsky has been at loggerheads with Noni Mozes for years.
Lieber alleges that Mozes owes hundreds of millions of shekels to Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) (which has a 34% stake in Yediot Ahronot) and that Mozes income from Yediot Ahronot is probably the only source from which he can repay the debt. "Around this massive debt, the size and significance of it, there is a conspiracy of absolute silence." Leiber says that people refuse to divulge anything about the matter.
The lawsuit also reveals that Mozes allegedly wanted to extend his term as the active head of the newspaper by eight years even though he has a serious indictment pending against him, but in the end the board of directors only agreed to extend his term by five years until he is 72.
Lieber claims, "This exceptional decision, of the appointment of a criminal defendant to such a decisive position at Yediot Ahronot and of a man who will probably be bankrupt in five years can only vbe done in an informed way and could not be decided without the full facts spread out before the decision makers."
Lieber's suit also alleges that Mozes traded almost NIS 1 billion in cryptocurrency futures without the knowledge of the board and caused the newspaper to lose hundreds of millions of shekels.
Lieber clams that Mozes and Bank Hapoalim refuse to say if Mozes personally owes the bank hundreds of millions of shekels, "even though they both worked together to get approvals for deals for the personal benefit of Mozes at the expense of the company."
Lieber is asking the court to appoint an economic expert who will investigate the circumstances in which Mozes allegedly caused huge damage to Yediot Ahronot with his trading in futures contracts trading. He alleges that both Mozes and Bank Hapoalim are concealing information from Yediot Ahronot's board of directors.
The lawsuit was first reported on the News 1 website.
Assumption of innocence: After the lawsuit was filed against him, Noni Mozes denies the claims and has not been convicted of any offense, and must still be considered innocent.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 10, 2020
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020