Last update - 00:00 23/10/2007
Former head of Bar Association ethics committee arrested for fraud
By Roni Singer Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
Police on Monday arrested Attorney Sini Kahat, former head of the Ethics Committee of the Israel Bar Association, on suspicion that he was involved in a real estate scam worth two millions dollars.
Two additional suspects, Avraham Eini and Yoav Sofir were also arrested, and the remand of all three was extended by a Tel Aviv court on Tuesday.
The incident began last week, after a Tel Aviv resident issued a complaint to the anti-fraud unit of the central district that alleged that three men had attempted to defraud him of land that he had inherited. The land in question is in the highly-valuable Neve Tzedek neighborhood and was inherited by the complainant in 1930.
The assailants allegedly tried to exploit the fact that the deed for the land was still in the name of the deceased man, even though it was under the ownership of the complainant since the man's death.
Police investigations have revealed that the Eini and Sofer forged a receipt for the sale between the deceased man and themselves for $180,000 with the stipulation that if the complainant did not pay the debt, they would acquire ownership of the land.
Police believe that Kahat became involved when the other two suspects when he knowingly drafted a fraudulent contract for the transfer of the land, and asked the court to serve as the guarantor of the contract.
After 30 days passed, and an appeal was not issued by the deceased man still on the deed, the court issued an injunction blocking the transfer of the land to Kahat.
The court issued a statement that the suspects "used corrupt and underhanded methods to gain assets that were not rightfully theirs."
Kahat's lawyer tried unsuccessfully to petition the court to block the release of his client's name, arguing that he was "an attorney of the highest order and prestige in Israel, and used to serve as head of the Ethics Committee."
The court however, decided to deny this request.