Archive: David Shay / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
One saver in the Slice Gemel affair received about NIS 400,000 back this week, while most affected savers still have no timetable for payment, according to a Sunday report. About NIS 170 million has been gathered for distribution under a court-approved recovery framework.
The first recipient is over 80 and has difficult personal circumstances, the report said. She belongs to a group of several hundred people whose money remained in Slice’s transfer account rather than reaching overseas funds. Their position differs from that of savers whose money must still be recovered from abroad.
How the money moved
The affair, exposed in 2023, concerns individually managed provident accounts, known in Israel as IRA accounts. Savers moved retirement money to Slice Gemel, and funds then flowed to foreign investment vehicles that the Capital Market Authority determined were not permitted investments, according to the report.
Insurance agents and marketers helped bring savers into the arrangements. One saver, Bat Sheva Mazuz, told the newspaper she had been seeking a loan in 2023 and was offered favorable terms in exchange for moving her retirement savings. She said she received a NIS 153,000 loan while NIS 511,000 in retirement savings was transferred away.
Mazuz said she believed regulatory supervision meant the money was safe. A second saver, a 76-year-old widow, said her agent had described the investment as secure and accessible; she later learned that her account had no money available. These are the savers’ accounts of what they were told.
The people and institutions involved
The regulator’s official report says public complaints led to an inspection in early 2023. On Dec. 26 that year, the commissioner appointed accountant Efi Sandrov as authorized manager to replace the company’s management, investigate failures and protect members’ rights.
Sandrov is responsible for tracing assets, bringing civil claims and implementing the distribution framework. The Capital Market Authority, headed by commissioner Amit Gal, investigated the company and took licensing action against agents. Judge Sigal Yaakobi oversees the civil proceedings and recovery arrangements in the Tel Aviv District Court.
Those recovery efforts include civil claims against insurance agents and foreign funds over the movement and use of savers’ money. Slice’s controlling shareholder, Shimon Goldberg, faces a request to provide NIS 71 million following a regulatory demand linked to his commitment to replenish the company’s capital, the Sunday report said. Lobby 99 supports savers and is pursuing state assistance alongside those recovery proceedings.
Why repayment dates differ
The initial repayment group moved money after Sept. 6, 2023, when transfers from Slice’s transit account to the foreign funds stopped, the report said. Because that money stayed in the company’s account, it can be returned ahead of funds tied up in overseas recovery.
Slice’s authorized management announced on Sept. 29 that the court had approved its recovery plan. The Sunday report says the framework sets calculation methods and funding sources rather than a fixed sum for each saver. Most affected savers must wait, with priority established for people of retirement age who need the money.
Some money is unlocated; other assets have been identified but remain illiquid. Veterinarian Mark Grozlin, 67, said about NIS 1.1 million in his savings had been placed in restricted funds that had assets but could not provide withdrawals. His case is different from money whose whereabouts are unknown.
About NIS 1.06 billion reached Slice’s account and about NIS 845 million went to foreign-fund accounts, according to the authorized manager’s findings cited in the report. It says roughly NIS 350 million remains unlocated and another NIS 150 million has been located without a repayment agreement. Those figures reflect different stages of asset recovery.
The court’s concern about enforcement
The Sunday report quoted Yaakobi as saying last month that law enforcement was not giving the affair sufficient attention. She said the authorized manager’s work raised serious concerns about coordinated relationships between fund organizers and agents that diverted retirement investments into unauthorized alternatives.
Yaakobi directed that the matter be brought to the state attorney and attorney general for consideration, the report said. The regulator has revoked 12 agent licenses associated with Finbert, while the authorized manager has brought civil cases.
Savers described complaints that were closed even as a broader inquiry was said to exist. Israel Police told the newspaper it does not give details confirming or denying the existence of investigations.
Guy Shentzer’s response
The report says a civil claim by the authorized manager alleges that a company owned by Guy Shentzer raised $100 million from Slice members and transferred it to foreign funds, with $25 million subsequently disappearing. Those are the allegations described in the claim.
Shentzer said the activity involved IRA accounts, that marketers operated under insurance-agent licenses and received compensation, and that he was not involved in operating their marketing activity. He said he was not responsible for promises made without his knowledge by an independent organizer. He said the independent organizer knew the investments and activity and held interests in many of them.
Shentzer said he directly recruited a small number of customers and accepts personal responsibility toward them. He said his license was voluntarily suspended and later revoked, and that he no longer works in the field.
He said he is cooperating with the authorized manager and working to transfer personal assets, shares, money and rights for members’ benefit. He also said he had supplied information about other parties he believes were obstructing recovery and would continue making resources available to pursue them. He said proceedings against him had not begun because the filing fee had not been paid, and referred to further efforts covered by legal confidentiality. He expressed confidence in the court, the authorized manager and their lawyers in pursuing recovery in Israel and abroad.
The savers’ appeal
Lobby 99 is seeking a state financial guarantee for affected savers. The Sunday report says the High Court of Justice has asked Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for an update this month on temporary assistance.
Lobby 99 legal adviser Dr. Einat Solnik said older savers cannot afford to wait years for enforcement while struggling to meet daily expenses. Her appeal is for assistance during the recovery process, alongside efforts to pursue those responsible.
JBizNews Desk | Tel Aviv, Israel
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