Criminal9/1/2026

Former Head of the Tax Authority Charged with Tax Offenses

An indictment was filed with the Tel Aviv District Court against attorney and accountant Shimon Cohen, four other people, and three companies controlled by Cohen. The prosecution alleges that the defendants used fictitious trusts and false documents to conceal income, assets, and tax liabilities.

Key facts

•Court: Tel Aviv District Court
•Defendants: five people and three companies
•Alleged money laundering: approximately NIS 50 million
•2018 transaction: €563.5 million
•Cohen’s alleged income: approximately €8.45 million
•The case number and exact date are not stated

Who Is Involved in the Case

The main defendant is Shimon Cohen, who previously held senior positions in the professional division of the Israel Tax Authority and was a member of the Authority’s management. Also charged were former Tax Authority employee Orly Tal, Zvi Shapatz, Haim Salter, and David Appel. The indictment was also filed against the companies “Shimon Cohen, Attorneys at Law, Ltd.,” “Cohen Family Assets Ltd.,” and “Shimon Cohen, Management Services, Ltd.”

Fictitious Trusts and False Documents

According to the prosecution’s account, Cohen created the appearance that clients’ assets abroad had been held for many years in trusts established by foreign residents. In one case, it was alleged that the trust was invented in 2016 and that the trust document was forged to make it appear as though it had been drawn up in 2005; Salter allegedly signed it in exchange for $15,000. In another case, a trust was presented to the Tax Assessor as though it had existed since 1990. These mechanisms were allegedly intended to help regularize unreported foreign income and secure significantly lower tax rates.

Income and Transfers Abroad

A separate case concerns a 2018 transaction involving the sale of holdings in a foreign company for €563.5 million. According to the indictment, Cohen received approximately €8.45 million in brokerage fees and other payments into a Swiss bank account belonging to a foreign company under his control, but did not report them to the tax authorities. The prosecution also alleges that Cohen and Appel drew up fictitious loan agreements to transfer millions of shekels to Appel through his relatives, without disclosing the funds to the special administrator of his assets or to the tax authorities.

What Charges Were Filed

Cohen is charged, among other things, with tax offenses, assisting others in evading tax, forgery and use of a forged document under aggravated circumstances, assisting in the concealment of a debtor’s assets, money laundering, and making false entries in corporate documents. According to the prosecution, the alleged money-laundering activity amounted to approximately NIS 50 million. The other defendants face various charges involving tax offenses, forgery, concealment of assets, and acts of fraud. The names of the specific statutes and the section numbers are not stated in the source.

What the Court Decided

The article reports only that the indictment was filed with the Tel Aviv District Court; no judicial decision or final outcome of the proceedings is stated in the source. Cohen’s attorneys rejected the allegations and argued that the indictment lacks any substantive basis and will collapse in court. The case number and the exact calendar date on which the indictment was filed are also not stated in the publication.

What this means for you

The case shows that the tax authorities examine not only the existence of a trust abroad, but also when it was established, its documents, who actually controls the assets, and the credibility of the declared value. The use of foreign companies, bank accounts, and loan agreements does not in itself exempt anyone from the obligation to report income and assets in Israel. At this stage, these are allegations by the prosecution, not guilt established by the court.

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Case analysis based on court rulings