Discount Bank has ended the Australian tax evasion case of its customer, the Binter family

Discount Bank has ended the Australian tax evasion case of its customer, the Binter family. The bank reported that it had reached a settlement in a civil proceeding, under which it would pay NIS 343 million to the joints of the companies controlled by the family. In parallel with the settlement, the bank announced that following the demand of the Supervisor of Banks, it will establish an independent committee headed by retired judge Hila Gerstel to examine the bank's conduct in the case.
Discount has been making provisions for the lawsuit for several quarters, so it will not have to make further provisions. In addition, the insurance company that insures the bank will return $ 55 million (NIS 180 million), about half of the fine, so that in practice the bank will pay a lower amount from its capital. Since the bank has already set aside the full amount, it will record $ 47.5 million in revenue from the insurance company's repayment. In addition, approximately NIS 20 million of the amount that Discount will be required to pay as part of the settlement agreement will be paid by Mercantile Bank, which it controls.
Discount reached a compromise settlement to settle the claims on the matter without admitting responsibility for the allegations against it. The proceedings against Discount were civil and not criminal, in which joints of a number of companies controlled by the Binter family - an Australian Jewish family - filed lawsuits against Discount alleging that it had previously assisted the Binter family in evading taxes in Australia.
The allegations in Australia against the Binter family are that it has evaded over two decades, starting in the 1990s, a tax of over Australian $ 100 million, and it has been defined in Australia as one of the biggest tax evasion cases. It has been alleged that the Binter family has previously deposited unreported funds in a number of banks, including Discount. In return, it was alleged, the banks granted the family companies loans of a similar amount to eliminate taxable income, as the authorities in Australia were not aware of the existence of deposits in the banks.
The investigation was started a decade ago by the tax authorities, but later was handled by the family's joint ventures. Bank Hapoalim was also exposed to the affair, but to a lesser extent than Discount, and it paid the joints about NIS 10 million several years ago. To transfer the legal proceedings in the case to Israel, in order to prove that the bank did not do anything illegal, but six months ago it was decided that the legal proceedings would be held in Australia, in the end a civil settlement was reached, in which the bank does not admit that it acted improperly. He pays a considerable sum to close the affair.