Will 84 year-old Shmuel Dankner, the uncle of Nochi and Danny Dankner, the man who made the Dankner group one of the strongest players in the Israeli economy, be declared bankrupt? And did Dankner try to alienate his assets?
Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF), a creditor of Shmuel Dankner due to a guarantee he granted to failing company Elran Investments, recently petitioned the Tel Aviv District Court for an order of receivership and a declaration of bankruptcy for the assets of Dankner and his wife.
According to the petition submitted to Judge Eitan Orenstin, the bank has learned that "Dankner acted to dispose of his assets, and to transfer his rights in the apartment at 8 Hashahaf St. in Jaffa and a private house there to his wife close to the time when his economic situation became compromised, following the collapse of Elran Investments, in which Dankner was a shareholder and director."
The bank asserts that on September 15, 2014, in a series of meetings conducted by the bank, it met with Shmuel Dankner, who claimed for the first time that under a 1997 oral arrangement between him and his wife, she had been promised that when Dankner turned 80, he would transfer to his wife all his rights in properties on Hashahaf St. in Jaffa.
"Dankner turned 80 in 2010, the year in which a debt arrangement with Elran was signed. Dankner, the debtor, did not bother to mention anything about the arrangement with his wife," the bank asserted.
According to the bank, the picture emerging from the meeting with Dankner is "an unusual picture of a debtor, formerly a leading, reputable, well-known, and experienced businessman, who had been active in a number of fields, and headed a group with great influence on the Israeli economy. Today, right around the time when Elran Investments collapsed economically, the debtor on the one hand disposed of the assets registered in his name, while on the other hand lived at a high standard of living and employed a housekeeper, and even arranged free lodging for her and her family."
According to the petition, the debt that Mizrahi-Tefahot is seeking to collect, and which it fears that Dankner is disposing of assets in order to avoid paying, is a guarantee granted by Dankner to Mizrahi-Tefahot at the time of the 2010 creditors arrangement of Elran Investments, which was jointly owned by Shmuel, Gadi, Danny, and Dori Dankner.
The banks says that Shmuel and his son, Dori, signed a NIS 7 million guarantee in its favor. Mizrahi-Tefahot took these guarantees to the 2010 creditors arrangement with Elran Investments, which engaged in real estate and tourism business. Under the arrangement, Mizrahi-Tefahot is due to begin receiving payments on a debt of over NIS 30 million starting in December 2014.
The banks said it had been waiting for payment for four years. Meanwhile, Elran Investments has been put into receivership, and a receiver has been appointed on behalf of the bondholders. Adv. Bechar was appointed receiver for the shares of the Elran Real Estate subsidiary, which is also collapsing, and which still has properties in Russia.
"According to the books managed by Mizrahi-Tefahot, Elran Investments' debt to the bank amounts to NIS 36 million, as of September 4, 2014," the petition asserts. "This indicates that Mizrahi-Tefahot has met the requirements in a way that justifies the issue of a receivership order for the debtor's assets, and for declaring him bankrupt."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 30, 2014
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014