State Attorney Considers Indicting Senior Executives of Yount Credit Including Former Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon

The State Attorney's Office has notified several senior officials and officers of the public company "Yount Credit," including former Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, that it is considering prosecuting them, pending a hearing, in connection with multiple cases of alleged fraud and corporate misconduct.

An indictment, subject to a hearing, is set to be filed against Tzachi Azer, Shlomo Isaac, and Shi Panso—three controlling owners and officers of Yount Credit, a company providing non-bank credit. These individuals are also the controlling owners of the private company "Yount." Additionally, five other suspects, including former Minister Kahlon, who served as chairman of Yount Credit's board of directors between June 2021 and June 2022, have been summoned for a hearing. Other individuals summoned include the company’s compliance officer, Yoav Zabar, consultant Dodo Ben-Naim, and the companies themselves. They face allegations of fraudulent offenses and reporting violations, each according to their role.

Fraudulent Share Allocation and Embezzlement

One key case centers on a 2020 transaction in which two million shares of Yount Credit, valued at NIS 50 million, were allocated to the controlling owners’ private company and two additional consultants. Authorities allege that the transaction was intended to pay off bond obligations owed by the private company. The controlling owners, with the assistance of the compliance officer, allegedly misrepresented the transaction to Yount Credit's governing bodies, fraudulently securing shares worth NIS 50 million.

Another case involves allegations of embezzlement and financial irregularities totaling NIS 5 million, discovered in Yount Credit's Nazareth branch by compliance officer Yoav Zabar in late 2020. It is suspected that the controlling owners, including Azer, concealed these findings from the company's board and the public. Kahlon, who was informed of these issues in early 2022, allegedly instructed Zabar not to report them to the board out of concern for the company’s credit rating.

In mid-2022, Zabar ultimately reported the irregularities to the board, which then appointed an external auditor. Following the public disclosure of these matters, Yount Credit's stock was suspended from trading, removed from stock market indexes, and saw its credit rating was downgraded. The company’s auditors also withdrew their approvals of the financial statements for the years 2020-2022.

Personal Misconduct Allegations Against CEO Tzachi Azer

In a separate case, Tzachi Azer is also suspected of withdrawing NIS 400,000 in personal funds from the public company.

Legal Defense

Attorney Guy Shanar, representing Azer, stated: "We intend to exhaust our right to a hearing before the attorney's office, where we will thoroughly and extensively raise all our claims. We believe that after a thorough examination of the matter, the intention to file charges against my client will change. Mr. Azer has many well-founded claims regarding the suspicions attributed to him, and we are confident that the prosecution will conclude that there is no basis for pursuing this case."