Melisron Ltd. (TASE: MLSR) and its CEO, Avi Levy, have been acquitted on reasonable doubts on charges of securities fraud. Melisron's parent company Ofer Investments Ltd. and its subsidiary, Ofer Development and Investments Ltd., Golan Madar, Ofer Investment's CFO, and Eli Haelion, a trader, were convicted of securities fraud and violations of reporting rules with regard to an expanded bond issue by Melisron. Ofer Investments, controlled by Leora Ofer, owns 67% of Melisron, an income-producing property company.
Tel Aviv District Court Judge Chaled Kabub said, "After reviewing all the evidence submitted to the court, I have concluded that there is insufficient material to support Levy's conviction on the charge of manipulating and pegging Melisron's bonds, solely on the basis of hearsay of Madar, his (alleged) partner in the crimes."
According to the indictment, in November 2009, Levy conspired with Ofer Investments CFO Golan Madar of buying Melisron bonds in order to boost their price, ahead of a bond offering. The objective was to achieve a better price in the offering, compared with the market price.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 19, 2013
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