White-collar crime
Insolvency proceedings: Bank Leumi asks for a trustee over the firm of Shimon Cohen, a former Tax Authority official charged with tax offences and money laundering
Insolvency in Israel: Bank Leumi asked a court to appoint a trustee over the firm of Shimon Cohen, an ex-Tax Authority official charged with tax offences.
In brief
- Bank Leumi asked the court to open insolvency proceedings against the law firm of lawyer and accountant Shimon Cohen and to appoint a trustee, Calcalist and Bizportal reported on November 7, 2026.
- According to the application, Cohen and companies under his control owe the bank about NIS 1.2 million, and the debt is secured by a charge on an apartment in Beersheba.
- In early September 2026 the Tax and Economic Prosecution filed an indictment against Cohen in the Tel Aviv District Court, with five counts of tax offences, forgery, offences under the Insolvency Law and money laundering.
- Cohen has not been convicted and is presumed innocent. His lawyers say the indictment has no basis and will collapse in court.
What the bank is asking for
According to the reports, the bank wants the court to appoint a trustee who will decide whether the firm can keep operating or should be wound up (Calcalist, Bizportal).
The bank said it has not taken ordinary collection steps so far because, in its assessment, they would be of no use. According to the application, the company owes large sums to the state in connection with the criminal case, and a significant part of its assets is expected to be frozen (Bizportal). No hearing date has been reported.
Who is Shimon Cohen
According to Calcalist, Cohen is an accountant and lawyer whose firm specialises in international taxation and the taxation of trusts. He worked for 15 years at the Israel Tax Authority, and in his last role there served as acting deputy director for professional affairs and as a member of the Authority's management (Calcalist).
What the indictment alleges
According to the indictment, as reported, Cohen brokered a 2018 deal for the sale of holdings in the German real estate company TLG Immobilien. It is alleged that he received about EUR 5.6 million as a brokerage fee and about EUR 2.8 million for legal services, about EUR 8.4 million in total, and that the money was transferred to a Swiss account of a foreign company under his control and was not reported to the Tax Authority (Bizportal).
It is further alleged that about NIS 3.5 million was passed to a contractor who was then in bankruptcy proceedings, through fictitious loan agreements with members of his family, without reporting to the receiver or to the Tax Authority (Bizportal). According to the prosecution, in 2018 and 2019 transactions in prohibited property worth about NIS 29 million were carried out, along with further transactions worth about NIS 21.6 million.
Four other defendants were charged alongside Cohen, among them his partner at the firm and two businessmen who were clients of the firm. The prosecution asked to freeze assets worth tens of millions of shekels registered to Cohen's real estate company, including about 30 apartments in Tiberias and an apartment in Ramat Gan (Bizportal).
The defence response
Cohen's lawyers told Calcalist: "This is an especially absurd indictment, with no real basis, and it is going to collapse in court" (Calcalist). None of the defendants has been convicted.
Why it matters to creditors
When a debtor faces criminal proceedings and their assets are frozen, a civil creditor can end up at the back of a long queue. Here the bank chose not to start ordinary collection steps and went straight to insolvency proceedings. For other creditors, a documented picture of the debtor's assets, charges and related companies is the starting point for deciding between ordinary collection and joining a collective process.
Sources: Calcalist, 07.11.2026, Bizportal, 07.11.2026.
Further reading: Money laundering red flags in a business, Background check before a deal, and our hidden asset tracing service.
The information in this section is general and is not legal advice. This report is based on coverage in Calcalist and Bizportal. The indictment sets out allegations that have not been proven, Cohen and the other defendants have not been convicted and are presumed innocent. The insolvency application has not yet been heard.
