The date on which the defendant understood that proceedings might take place that might require the presentation of evidence and testimonies
- According to the prosecution, the possibility that the issue of the defendant's tax liability in Israel would reach litigation was a real possibility from 2009, and therefore the transfer of the money to Ben-Eliezer should be seen as an act that took into account this possibility.
- According to the defense, the defendant was confident that his arguments would be accepted, in light of the approval (P/13) he received from the Tax Authority. This feeling of the defendant, according to the claim, was his lot throughout the proceedings conducted by the Tax Authority, and even after the appeal was submitted to the court (December 24, 2012). It was argued that it was only in August 2013 that the defendant understood from his lawyer that there might be a need to conduct a proceeding within the court, and for this purpose he must formulate a list of potential witnesses, in accordance with the parameters to be determined by his lawyer.
- The data that were placed before me lead to a conclusion that is consistent with the prosecution's position that at the time of the transfer of the money, the defendant took into account the possibility that he would need Ben-Eliezer's testimony in the tax proceedings.
Since the beginning of the tax proceedings in 2009, the defendant has been professionally supported by lawyers and accountants, and it is obvious, Even in view of the sums in question, because the same professionals presented him with the possible scenarios, one of which is a factual clarification on the question of residency. I do not believe that there is any real relevance to the question of whether the defendant assumed that the factual inquiry would be made before the Tax Authority or in the framework of appeal proceedings in court, since in any case, it can be assumed that already close to the beginning of the tax proceedings, he anticipated the need to present evidence and testimonies that support his version that he was a foreign resident.