Capital Market Authority clarifies: Penalty on Neeman Insurance Agency was not imposed on its owner

After announcing earlier this week the imposition of a civil fine and a monetary penalty totaling approximately 10.5 million shekels on "Neeman Insurance Agency," the Capital Market Authority issued a clarification yesterday that the penalty was imposed on the agency itself, and not directly on its owner, Naor Neeman, who also serves as the agency's CEO.

According to the Authority's announcement, the penalty was imposed for carrying out withdrawals of pension savings funds while committing serious violations of legal provisions, where the agency encouraged clients to redeem their pension savings.

"At Mr. Neeman's request, we clarify that the Authority's findings, according to which clients were misled into thinking they were speaking with a representative of the institutional body where they manage their money, that agency representatives withheld relevant information, and also performed actions in the personal area without informing the clients, amount to deception and not fraud," the Authority announced.

"The Authority clarifies that this does not change the findings that the agency under Mr. Neeman's management committed serious violations of legal provisions, while additional violations continue to be investigated," the statement added.

The Authority further sharpened its warning to the public against entities that encourage the withdrawal of pension savings funds before retirement age in a way that could lead to irreversible damage to monthly pension and insurance coverage, "as well as against entities that mislead clients and charge a high commission for actions that can be performed personally and at no cost at all."