The Better Place liquidators have summonsed senior officials in Israel Corporation - which invested in the electric car venture - including Idan Ofer and Amir Elstein for questioning, three and a half years after the company crashed.
"Globes" exposed the liquidators’ expected investigation two months ago. But now it appears the Better Place saga is far from over. Ofer, who controls Israel Corp., former Israel Corp. chairman Amir Elstein, and EVP of business development and strategy Eran Sarig have petitioned the court to block the Better Place liquidator, Adv. Sigal Rozen Rechav from investigating their culpability for the crash.
They claim she has a conflict of interest and is biased because of a "blood-soaked" battle between Haifa Chemicals - represented by Rozen Rechav’s firm - and Dead Sea Works, controlled by Israel Corp. In their response to the court, the liquidators rejected the "lazy" attempt to dismiss Rozen Rachav and said there was no justification for the request.
As part of the original petition, served in the Tel Aviv District Court after Ofer, Elstein, and Sarig were summonsed for questioning, the three asked Rozen Rechav and other attorneys from her firm, Raved Magriso Benkel & Co, not be included in their investigation.
They stressed they did not wish to dismiss her as a Better Place liquidator, only to exclude the attorney from their questioning. The three believe there is a potential for bias to creep into the proceedings because of the "intensive legal wrangling" between Rozen Rechav’s firm and Israel Corp.
"Comprehensive struggle"
Last December, "Globes" exposed the intention of the Better Place liquidators - Adv. Rozen Rechav and Shaul Kotler - to summon former executives for questioning, and that in the next stage of the investigation into the venture’s crash the liquidators would summonse Shai Agassi - founder and global CEO of the late Better Place - as well as senior managers who took part in the venture, like Ofer and Elstein.
It was reported that former Better Place CEO General (res.) Moshe Kaplinsky and former head of Better Place Australia Evan Thornley were to be summonsed at a later date. The liquidators are also considering sumonsing former Israel Corporation CEO Nir Gilad.
In their request for the summons, the liquidators noted the affiliation of Rozen Rechav’s firm with Haifa Chemicals and their ongoing dispute with an Israel Corp subsidiary. However, the liquidators did not believe the other matters would interfere with her judgment. Ofer, Elstein, and Sarig disagree.
"The incidental nature of the admission of a significant dispute, as if the matter was an eviction battle or a small claim, creates a measure of discomfort," said the petition to disqualify Adv. Rozen Rechav.
The three claim the lengthy dispute over the price of potash sold by Dead Sea Works to Haifa Chemicals, which could result in substantial legal consequences for both, "is a matter of tens of millions of dollars - at least."
The petition said a judge had already ruled on the dispute during an agreed-upon arbitration; however, they claimed, Haifa Chemicals decided to continue the battle and has opened four legal proceedings in its "comprehensive struggle against Dead Sea Works" since 2014.
In the petition, Ofer, Elstein, and Sarig also rejected the liquidators’ claim they were not connected to the companies tied in the dispute. "Ofer and Elstein served as directors of Israel Corp, which controls Israel Chemicals - which holds 100% of Dead Sea Works. Sarig serves as a director of Israel Chemicals and also held a position at Israel Corp until recently."
The liquidators soundly reject the claim. They said the petition did not clarify the connection between the Better Place inquiry and the "blood-soaked" battle in which the law firm represents a client with an ongoing trade dispute with Dead Sea Works.
According to the liquidators, the petition does not note the relationship between the companies being investigated and the Dead Sea Works dispute: specifically how the "grandparent" company - Israel Corp - or the parent company - Israel Chemicals - are connected to the corporate hierarchy of the Ofer family. Especially since Israel Corp and Israel Chemicals are public conglomerates, and never reported to investors.
Furthermore, Ofer, Elstein, and Sarig avoided noting their involvement - on a personal level - in the dispute.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 15, 2016
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016