Accountant General Michal Abadi-Boiangiu has instructed Israel Land Authority director general Benzi Lieberman to cancel its land deal with Rambam Healthcare Campus in Haifa and the Friends of Rambam Medical Center. Abadi-Boiangiu also notified Rambam CEO Dr. Rafael Beyar and KMR Advancement of Medical Service Ltd., which is affiliated with the Friends of Rambam that she utterly opposes the construction of a privately-owned emergency hospital, and that the government was taking back full rights to the land.
Abadi-Boiangiu also announced the immediate transfer of NIS 20 million to complete construction of a protected ward at Rambam Hospital, but that the matching NIS 20 million would only be transferred if the property is registered as government owned.
In December, "Globes" revealed that the Israel Land Authority sold, without a tender, its share of a lot to KMR, a non-profit organization registered by Friends of Rambam. Abadi-Boiangiu has now informed Lieberman that a thorough review of the deal found that the sale of the land without a tender was based on a misleading presentation to the Israel Land Authority which claimed that the government supported the deal and that the sale was made with the consent of the Ministry of Health.
Abadi-Boiangiu told Bayer that if the emergency hospital is not wholly registered as government owned by the deadline and if the government's rights are not settled, she will use her legal authority as the supervisor of government property. This implies that Abadi-Boiangiu, together with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice will seize money transferred to Rambam from the government, and will consider personal action against senior hospital managers.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 18, 2014
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