"Globes" has learned that Josef (Yossi) Maiman recently paid NIS 117 million to the Israel Tax Authority on the sale of his shares in EMG (East Mediterranean Gas Company) in 2006-2007 to Ampal American-Israel Corporation (which he owned), and later to financial institutions. This was in the framework of a settlement reached with the Authority, which forewent a tax demand of NIS 245 million, which included interest, inflation-linkage, and penalties on Maiman's original tax debt of about NIS 100 million.
The tax saga began a decade ago and had many twists and turns, from the repeated attacks on the pipeline via which EMG imported Egyptian gas to Israel, in 2011 and 2012, to Maiman's financial collapse and severe health problems, the arbitration proceedings versus the Egyptian government (for having failed to protect the pipeline), and versus the Egyptian gas companies (for unilaterally cancelling the supply contract), in which EMG was awarded damages of $1.03 billion, to the eventual $518 million sale of 39% of EMG to Yitzhak Tshuva's Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG), Noble Energy, and Egyptian company East Gas, which is what enabled Maiman to settle his tax debt. In the framework of the sale, the sellers agreed to forego their claims against the Egyptian government and the gas companies under its ownership.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 25, 2020
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