The Tel Aviv District Court today sentenced five former senior Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) executives to prison in the Siemens affair. In an indictment revised according to a plea bargain, they admitted and were convicted of bribery, fraud, breach of trust, and money laundering committed in 2000-2001.
In the plea bargain, first reported in "Globes," the parties agreed to petition the court for sentences of 24-45 months, fines amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels, and confiscated assets amounting to millions of shekels.
The plea bargain approved today by the court does not include Siemens Israel, a defendant in the affair, or IEC planning and development department deputy director David Elmakis, whose case is still being heard in court.
Former IEC senior deputy director general David Cohn was convicted of receiving a $500,000 bribe from Siemens related to his position, and of demanding an additional payment. The bribe money was deposited in cash in a safe in the UK. He was sentenced to 45 months in prison, one year on probation, confiscation of NIS 1 million, and a NIS 450,000 fine.
Former IEC engineering and planning department director Yona Schweitzer was convicted of receiving a $200,000 bribe from Siemens related to his position. The bribe money was transferred to a Swiss bank account controlled by his friend. He was sentenced to a 29-month prison term, an additional period on probation, confiscation of NIS 200,000 and an NIS 80,000 fine.
Former IEC deputy production department manager Jacob Hain, who was later promoted to senior deputy CEO, was convicted of receiving a $290,000 bribe from Siemens related to his position, which was transferred to his Swiss bank account. He was sentenced to a 24-month prison term, due to exceptional personal circumstances, a period on probation, and confiscation of NIS 1.16 million.
Former IEC engineering department deputy manager Haim Brenner was convicted of accepting a $430,000 bribe from Siemens relating to his position, which was transferred to his account in Switzerland, and of demanding further payments. He was sentenced to a 33-month prison term, a period on probation, and confiscation of NIS 1.7 million.
Former planning department departmental head Zvi Eyal was convicted of receiving a $260,000 bribe from Siemens related to his position, which was transferred to his Swiss bank account. He was sentenced to a 28-month prison term, a period on probation, and confiscation of NIS 1.04 million.
Judge Benny Sagi, who approved the plea bargains and sentenced the defendants, said, "The affair before us is serious according to almost any criteria. It indicates a culture of deeply rooted corruption that was prevalent at the most senior levels of the IEC."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on June 13, 2017
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