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Our firm continues to represent the institutional investors Phoenix and More, shareholders of Megureit Israel Ltd., in relation to a dispute about Megureit’s unlawful conduct. According to Phoenix and More, the REIT fund approved, in violation of the law, the extension of the agreement with the management company REIT Index Management Ltd., in a way that constitutes harm to the company itself (and, consequently, also to its shareholders). Megureit also refrained from transferring documents requested by Phoenix and More in this regard and procrastinated in an attempt to avoid convening a meeting and an operative discussion of the issue that could lead to a solution benefitting the company and all of its shareholders. Last week, Advs. Zohar Lande and Adi Shoham sent a letter to Megureit clarifying that Phoenix and More intend to insist on their rights, including by filing a derivative suit against the company and other parties. They requested that this letter be considered a preliminary notice before filing a derivative suit.

In an interview with Walla! News, Amos E. Rosenzweig, a special counsel at our firm, explains that Israeli law possesses no positive definition of who is considered an Israeli resident, but rather who is not. In addition, Amos discusses the social welfare conditions and financial allowances of Israeli residents who live abroad or are considered returning residents.

Our office represents a senior official under investigation in connection with suspicions of embezzlement, estimated at approximately NIS 120 million that were allegedly wrongfully obtained from the agricultural association at Moshav Achisemech.

The Ista deal, in which representatives on behalf of a broad public oversaw a sale of assets at a price that turned out to be attractive to buyers, has faced severe criticism. As an expert on corporations and the capital market, Micky Barnea was interviewed by Globes about the deal. Micky explained the role and responsibility of public representatives, who manage members’ funds, and clarified some ways to manage long-term investments.

Money laundering allegations against bid competitors convicted of coordinating a tender (coupled with charges of competition law offenses and fraud) may lead to aggravated penalties compares to those imposed on “regular” antitrust offenders. The Competition Authority’s decision to freeze and confiscate assets by virtue of Israel’s Anti-Money Laundering Law will exert heavy pressure, both financial and mental, on those under investigation and indictment. Read Gal Rozent and Ran Karmi’s article on the issue in Calcalist.

The tightrope Israel has been walking in the relationship between the United States and China was recently stretched even further, as the US continues to pursue policies aimed at making it difficult for its allies to cooperate with China. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Prof. Amichai Cohen, our firm’s of counsel on international law, details the difficulties and limitations for Israeli companies doing business with China.

Following pollution to the Ashalim River and its surrounding areas in 2017, three plaintiffs filed a class action against Rotem Amfert, a subsidiary of ICL Group, for NIS 400 million. The plaintiffs demanded compensation for the ecological damage caused to the area.  

We were interviewed by Calcalist to shed light on the proposed acquisition. We highlighted that there is no legal restriction in Israel on foreign ownership of an insurance company. However, in the past, the Capital Market, Insurance, and Savings Authority blocked a transaction in which a fund owned by the Chinese government sought to acquire control of Clal Insurance.