Insurance Agency Fined 10.5 Million Shekels for Defrauding Clients

The Capital Market Authority has imposed a civil fine and financial sanctions on Ne'emanut Insurance Agency and its CEO, Naor Neeman, totaling approximately 10.5 million shekels for violating regulatory requirements regarding pension consulting. According to the Authority, the agency defrauded clients and encouraged them to illegally withdraw pension savings, which compromised their insurance coverage and forced them to pay unnecessary taxes and high commission fees.

The extensive audit was launched following various complaints, with evidence gathered by the Authority's intelligence and enforcement department. The findings revealed a pattern of behavior aimed at inducing clients to make early withdrawals of pension funds through deceptive means.

Investigators found that agency representatives provided financial advice without holding the mandatory pension license. In several instances, they misled clients into believing they were speaking with representatives of the institutional bodies managing their savings. Furthermore, agents were found to be accessing clients' personal accounts on institutional websites without authorization. During the audit, officials also discovered justification documents sent to clients retroactively, which contained numerous deficiencies, including signatures from licensed professionals who had never actually provided advice to those clients.

Upon completion of the audit, the Authority notified the agency of the intended sanctions. Following a mandatory hearing process, the Commissioner of the Capital Market Authority rejected all arguments presented by the agency.

It should be noted that in addition to this audit in the pension sector, the Authority is currently conducting a parallel investigation into the agency's activities within the insurance field.