The court convicted the two of a series of offenses as part of a plea agreement • Tzipi is expected to serve 16 months in prison, and Bar - nine months of community service • The sentence will be handed down in September

Model Bar Refaeli and her mother Tzipi Refaeli arrived this morning (Monday) at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, where Judge Dana Amir was presented with the plea agreement signed with the two, according to which she would like an actual prison sentence of 16 months, and her daughter a nine-month prison sentence. , The two will also each pay a NIS 2.5 million fine.

The Refaeli family came to court to discuss the plea agreement // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon

Both confessed to the acts attributed to them. In his arguments for sentencing, the plaintiff said that the punishment reached in the agreement took into account the defendants' confession before the trial began. The payment paid by the defendants is tens of millions of shekels. Judge Dana Amir did not give a verdict in their case but will wait for the opinion of the commissioner of service works regarding the bar and will sentence them together in September, after the summer break.

The representative of the accuser said: "Bird's share in the larger acts is the one that managed Bar's finances. She was the one who planned and took the main part in carrying out the acts in the indictment and she was the one who was in direct contact with the representatives and summarized the data presented to the assessee. Bar Refaeli was Relatively young and the contacts with the Assessing Officer were conducted by a character who is nowhere near her, so she was charged with lesser offenses.

Two apartments were rented for Bar Refaeli one after the other and rights were purchased in an apartment intended for her future residence in Israel. These issues may affect the assessee's discretion in determining whether the center of Bar's life is. For tax purposes, the defendant submitted reports that she is not a resident of Israel.

The indictment does not attribute a criminal act to Bar Refaeli's statement that she is not a resident of Israel.

These are sophisticated and systematic planned acts that have been carried out over time. If we compare this case to a case where a person who is undoubtedly a resident of Israel omits income of 25 million who holds a bank account and does not report them at all in the case we submitted to him it is a complete omission of income to the assessee. False facts about some of the relevant factors in the question of taxation.

The message that needs to be conveyed in this case that the Assessing Officer must not be deceived is not to round corners in front of him and should be given all the information and full and accurate information on issues relevant to the Assessment. He must not be given false information, neither about several affiliations nor about one affiliation.

The second charge deals with the omission of income and attributes to it an offense of intent to evade tax - here there are mitigating circumstances in relation to the damage caused by the commission of the offense that we took into account. These incomes were not reported by Zippora Refaeli, but from the house the amount went into Bar Refaeli's bank accounts and was reported to the Assessing Officer as disputed income. Here the damage caused by the commission of the offense is limited.

In the fourth indictment, defendant Bar Refaeli received over the years a series of favors sometimes referred to as "celebs discounts" in exchange for the defendants' consent that the beneficiaries could use Bar's name as part of their PR promotion. At the same time the defendants did not report this income as well as additional income from the sale of clothing without reasonable justice.

The prosecutor added that the licenses in enforcing the so-called “celebs discounts”, the circumstances of the offense and his young age were taken into account. A key consideration for the settlement in the confession of the defendants prior to the filing of the indictment and the taking of this responsibility is also accompanied by the removal of the default in the indictment made prior to the hearing. The removal of the default also includes payments for obsolete tax years and interest and linkage were paid to the state treasury in the tens of millions of shekels.

Each defendant is prosecuted for her own actions, but there is also weight that they are a mother and her daughter. We took into account Tzipi's clean past and her health condition, we took into account Bar who is a mother of 3 children and each of them will pay a NIS 2.5 million fine.

Advocate Michal Rosen Ozer, representing Tzipi Refaeli, said in court: "I will tell a little about the circumstances that should be considered. Bar and Tzipi's family kept Bar. Part of Bar's success story is the people who wrapped her up and took care of her. 

Rosen Ozer added that "the most painful point in this case, is the personal point. The indictment is a legal document and describes a story of tax offenses behind these dry words there is family. Tzipi Refaeli always wanted the best for her daughter and she pays a very heavy price and is much heavier. "Mother and daughter. Our event hurts even more because it gets publicity, it is clear that publicity is part of life and the spotlight, but coming to such events comes at a higher price." 

Bar's defense attorney, Ruthi Litvak: "A sentence of 9 months imprisonment for service work and a fine of NIS 2.5 million is a significant and painful punishment. It is appropriate for the offenses and circumstances of their commission and personal circumstances. "She took responsibility and deeply regrets. As for the accusation of the celeb's assumptions, she was the first to the best of my knowledge to be prosecuted for these matters even though she was not the only one to receive them."

At the end of the hearing, Tzipi Refaeli turned to the judge: "I take allegiance to my actions and ask the court to accept our agreement with the prosecution." Bar Refaeli said: "It is very inappropriate for me to be here. I regret my actions and can say I was 20 and some day I am somewhere else. Can assure my mistress that you will not see me again within the walls of the court"

Plea agreement and confession attributed 

More than a month ago, the State Attorney's Office filed the indictment against the two in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court in the plea agreement, according to which, among other things, in 2012-2009, Bar Refaeli divided her life between Israel and the United States and generated significant income from her work abroad. NIS 24,964,862 Bar Refaeli had a claim before the tax authorities in Israel that she is a foreign resident living in the United States, who is not required to report and pay tax in Israel.

Tzipi, who was running her daughter's business at the time, feared that Bar Refaeli's various affiliations with Israel would constitute affiliations that the Assessing Officer would consider if Bar - Refaeli's center of life was in Israel for tax purposes in Israel. Therefore, and in order to avoid paying tax in Israel, Tzipi Refaeli acted to hide her daughter's connections to Israel in various ways.

The indictment states that Refaeli acted so that in the lease on an apartment in YOO Towers, which was to be used by her daughter Bar Refaeli in 2009, it was stated that the tenant is Dor Refaeli, Bar Refaeli's brother, and Bar's name was not mentioned and Tzipi Refaeli stated in the lease An apartment in W Towers that was rented to be used by Bar Refaeli during her stay in Israel in 2010, it was stated that the tenant of the apartment is Tzipi Refaeli, and Bar Refaeli's name was not mentioned. In 2011, Tzipi Refaeli signed contracts for the acquisition of rights in real estate in the Blue Project, which are intended for Bar Refaeli's residence in Israel in the future. "

Regarding Bar Refaeli, the State Attorney's Office stated that according to the indictment, during the assessment hearings for the 2012-2009 tax years, she provided the assessee with incorrect information that could be relevant to determining her residency, regarding apartments in YOO and W Towers and apartment rights in the Blue Project.