Lev Leviev, Arkady Gaydamak, Berel Lazar – Letter to the Editor

 

LEVIEV’S IMAGE AS NO. ONE PHILANTHROPIST MADE POSSIBLE BY USE OF AFRICA-ISRAEL FUNDS, HAS SERVED HIS PRIVATE FINANCIAL STANDING WHILE CONCURRENTLY DEFRAUDING INVESTORS  – LETTER TO THE EDITOR

We received the following letter to the editor which we are publishing as such. We were asked to kindly protect the author’s anonymity and are so doing. We have made very few edits.

We note that the author’s comments came to us without the source material and we will provide as it becomes available. We do not believe the lack of sources to preclude its publication and we welcome any comments.

LM

 

Dear LM,

I am writing to you as a follow-up to your articles regarding Lev Leviev, 23 Wall Street, Arkady Gaydamak, Africa Israel and the numerous interrelated properties, investments and contributions. I thought you should be aware of the following and would be grateful if you would publish. As a preface to my comments, you have already published information regarding lawsuits between Mr. Gaydamak and Mr. Leviev, which have been and continue to be ongoing. You may or may not know the history of those lawsuits or have access to the truth and accuracy of the occurrences and significant nuances. I write to you as a person with an intimate understanding of those events.

In 2012, in the course of the hearings in front of the High Court of Justice of London, where Gaydamak sued Leviev alleging Leviev fraudulently denied the existence of the Trust Agreement by which Leviev had the obligation of trust towards Gaydamak, the Justice Lord Jeffrey Vos (who is a Jew) said to Leviev at the beginning of the trial that Leviev is widely known in the world as one of the biggest financial contributors to the Jewish communities. He then asked Leviev how much he contributes Jewish causes. Leviev cast down his eyes and replied that, in accordance with the Jewish tradition that he respects, the amount of “tsedaka” should not be proclaimed publicly by the contributor, and then Leviev wrote some figures on a paper and presented it only to the judge’s eyes. Justice Lord Vos was visibly impressed.

There is no doubt that this event, which by no means should normally influence the “discovery of the truth”, nevertheless has influenced the opinion of Justice Vos concerning Leviev.

However, Leviev was not precise, that all his so-called contributions are made by fraud from the account of the public company “Africa-Israel” where Leviev is a major shareholder. The so-called contributions that he widely advertises, are in reality, paid by the shareholders who are mainly pension funds, with the money of the pensioners.

It should be noted in the context of many of your articles, “Africa-Israel” never reimbursed their investments.

Leviev also did was not punctilious to Justice Lord Vos and generally, when he failed to specify that all his so-called contributions are destined specifically for the Federation of the Jewish Communities of FSU where Leviev is a Head and where the so-called spiritual leader is Berel Lazar, who was to be the safeguard of the trust in question is rabbi. In exchange for this financing Berel Lazar blindly supports all frauds of Leviev who, in order to commit his frauds, has built for himself an artificial image of the man who respects the rules of Torah.

The representative of “Africa-Israel” bondholders Dan Avnon stated: “We find it’s unacceptable that “Africa-Israel” which hasn’t been able to repay money to its creditors, is making donations to third parties”.

Then, the public company “Africa-Israel”, in order to cover and justify Leviev’s frauds, issues official statements full of arrogance, such as: “Africa-Israel” sees itself as committed to active involvement in society and the community in which it operates together with its businesses, operations and entrepreneurship. In this spirit, all of “Africa-Israel” subsidiary companies undertake a wide range of community activities in the countries in which they operate, which is expressed among other ways in money donations and voluntary activities”.

This arrogant official statement of the public company “Africa-Israel” is the obvious evidence that Leviev, in order to build his artificial image of one of Judaism’s top philanthropists , is in actuality stealing from the public company and using not his own money but public money to further his own interests.

As in many other similar cases of severe breach by Leviev and “Africa-Israel” of law and regulations imposed upon public companies, the Stock Exchange Regulators are strangely silent.

Thus, in the course of the hearings in the High Court of Justice in London, Leviev, in order to obtain a favourable opinion about himself, lied to Justice Lord Vos concerning Leviev’s so-called contributions to the Jewish community.