How Israel 'appropriated' Bobroff spoils

Israeli law enforcement agencies could not establish a link between the R95m they froze in the bank accounts of fugitive attorneys Ronald and Darren Bobroff in 2017 and the money the duo stole in SA by overcharging road accident victims. As a result, they could not assist the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit in recovering the money, but proceeded to institute civil and criminal proceedings against Darren Bobroff related to money laundering. Moneyweb reports that these proceedings were later terminated after the parties, Darren Bobroff and the Israeli authorities, settled without proactively informing or consulting the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). This saw Israel appropriating around R70m of the funds and allowing the Bobroffs to retain the balance of about R25m. This despite the fact that the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) last year ruled that the money the Israelis froze was the proceeds of crime and must be forfeited to the state. These developments are revealed in a letter the Israelis sent to SA’s Department of Justice (DoJ) in April 2021. The letter, signed by a senior deputy to the State Attorney of the State of Israel, Yael Bitton, also informed the DoJ of the settlement agreement.

Moneyweb received a copy of the letter from the NPA after applying for it in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia). Interestingly, says Moneyweb, the Department of Justice refused it a similar Paia application, stating that the record ‘would reveal information supplied in confidence by or on behalf of another state’. SA authorities have also escalated the case to the DoJ and the Department of International Relations &  Co-operation on the instruction of Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola. The case dates back to March 2017, when Israeli authorities seized R103m in the Bobroffs’ bank accounts in that country. The SCA later ruled that R95m of this money was the proceeds of crime and should be forfeited to SA.

Legalbrief reports that the Bobroffs fled from SA to Australia in 2016 after irregularities were uncovered at their firm. It became evident that their modus operandi was to convince clients to enter into agreements that were null and void and to use that money to commit fraud, theft and tax evasion. Richard Spoor, the Bobroffs’ lawyer in SA, recently blamed a ‘posturing incompetent’ NPA and opportunistic Israeli authorities for financial problems the fugitives are experiencing. He said the Bobroffs are ‘broke’ and suffered a huge injustice, which he labelled as ‘manifestly unjust and unfair’.