Sturdy (Photo: Yonatan Zindel / Flash 90)
Last night (Monday), an interview by Ayala Hasson with Gal Hirsch was broadcast on Network 13. The prosecution chose to refute many allegations made in the film.
The State Attorney’s Office’s response to the film: “Gal Hirsch and his three accomplices are accused of evading income and making false reports to the tax authorities in the amount of tens of millions of shekels. Hirsch is accused of personally concealing NIS 6 million in income.
Gal Hirsch (Photo: Avshalom Shashoni Flash 90)
The indictment was filed after a complex investigation, which initially included the serious suspicions of committing tax offenses and in which legal investigations were conducted abroad, as well as after seriously examining the allegations raised by the defendants at the hearing.
According to the indictment, Hirsch and his associates ran a ramified array of Israeli and foreign companies and many bank accounts around the world, through which they sought to hide and disguise their activities from law enforcement. This conduct, as well as the fact that Hirsch – unlike others – refused to transfer foreign bank account statements, contributed to the continuation of the investigation.
One of Hirsch’s accomplices and the other defendants, who co-organized the unreported activity, has long pleaded guilty and was convicted of tax offenses, as part of a plea bargain, after paying his debt to the tax authorities.
Allegations of Hirsch’s persecution or a desire to thwart his appointment as commissioner are baseless and have no basis, not to mention that the criminal investigation was opened after Hirsch’s candidacy for commissioner was removed.
As mentioned, the investigation into the case of Defensive Shield’s activity in Georgia included from day one suspicions of committing tax offenses, in which Hirsch and his associates were charged, as well as suspicions of bribery of a foreign public employee and money laundering, for which no evidence was gathered during the investigation.
Demonstration in favor of Gal Hirsch (Photo: Yonatan Zindel / Flash 90)
The Attorney General and those on his behalf acted in a considerate and responsible manner and examined information that came to their attention as he had required them to act.
The legal proceedings in Hirsch’s case are currently being conducted in court, and all the allegations will be clarified within his framework. “
Clarifications for various allegations made in the film:
The allegations: “The bribery investigation in Georgia lasted 7 years, and after nothing was found, they decided to treat him with marginal tax offenses to justify” thwarting the appointment. “
Facts of the truth: Contrary to what is claimed, the investigation into the activity in Georgia did not last 7 years. From the beginning of the investigation into the activities of Hirsch and his partners in Georgia, the suspicions were tax offenses, bribery of a foreign public servant and money laundering. Both the police and the tax authority carried out joint investigative actions even before the suspects were questioned themselves. Regarding the suspicions of foreign bribery and money laundering, no evidence has been gathered at the investigation stage. However, the suspicions of tax offenses were evidentially based and formulated into an indictment.
Hirsch refuses to transfer relevant bank documents
Regarding the duration of the investigation of the tax offenses – Mr. Hirsch refused (and still refuses) to transfer relevant bank documents under his control for examination by the authorities, contrary to some of his partners, which led to the investigation continuing.
At the request of Hirsch’s defense attorneys, a number of lengthy hearings were held, at the end of which their arguments were fully clarified. The prosecution files indictments based on evidence, when there is a reasonable basis for a conviction, and rejects any and all allegations of “search at any cost.”
As we stated in an official statement in 2015, the initial information that reached the Attorney General in Hirsch’s case did not come from the Israel Police but from another enforcement body.
As early as 2018, it was clarified in a letter to Hirsch’s defense attorneys that there was no truth in their claim that the investigation began solely on the basis of old material that had been stored. This letter was also published in the media at the time.
The claim: “The plea agreement that has already been signed in the case is not related to Gal Hirsch and his offenses”
Truth facts: This is not true. Gal Hirsch and his three accomplices are accused of concealing income and making false reports to the tax authorities in the amount of tens of millions of shekels. One of the partners in the Georgia operation and the distribution of profits derived from it, pleaded guilty to a tax offense as part of a plea deal with the prosecution. His sentence is expected to be handed down soon.
The claim: “The prosecution claims that Hirsch left NIS 6 million in person. He paid NIS 3.5 million legally, so it should be deducted from the account, there is no dispute about that.”
Facts of the truth: This matter is in dispute. Hirsch’s total offense is NIS 6 million, as stated in the indictment. The specified amount was transferred to Israel not in the year in which the income was generated, and against an invoice that does not reflect a real transaction, and is therefore a tax offense.
Argument: Referring to the case of evading millions in revenue as a “tiny” case, which is “dust”.
Facts of the truth: The tax offenses charged by Hirsch are serious offenses, which harm the public coffers, with a maximum penalty of up to 7 years in prison. Not really “dust”.
The above is intended to establish things as accurate and to prevent the public from being misled.
We are sorry for the broadcast of such a one-sided and trending film, while the procedure is pending in court. The place of all the allegations must be clarified in the proper place – in the context of the judicial process. “
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