The defendants were also charged with the offense of failing to maintain books of accounts under section 216(5) of the Ordinance:
This section states:
"A person who, without sufficient reason, has committed one of the offenses listed below, shall be sentenced to one year imprisonment or a fine as stated in section 61(a)(2) of the Penal Law, or both:
...
(5) did not maintain books of accounts in accordance with the instructions of the Director given under section 130(a);
..."
The factual element of an offense under section 216(5) focuses on the failure to maintain books of accounts as required by the instructions of the director given by virtue of section 130(a) of the Ordinance. The mental element lies in the box "without sufficient reason" in the section chain.
According to the ruling: "The section does not require a mental element of special intention in not maintaining the books of accounts, and there is no need to prove an intention to evade tax or to avoid paying it. It is sufficient that the books were not managed, except if the defendant presents a 'sufficient reason' for his omission, in which case the offense in question was not consolidated in his case" (Serious Crimes Case 20623-11-12 State of Israel v. Grimberg (September 26, 2016).
I will discuss first the subject of the motel, then the apartment in Pardes Hanna, and finally the income from bribes and theft by a public servant.
The motel
- The accuser attributes to the defendants the offenses detailed above in relation to the years 2015-2018, and petitions, as stated, to determine the scope of income from the motel during those years on the basis of cash deposits.
- According to the exhibits in the file, the following income from the motel was declared (the income relates to the motel only since the defendant did not declare income from the apartment in Pardes Hanna at all):
In 2015 - 4, NIS 340 (P/136)
In 2016 - 0 NIS (P/136)
In 2017 - NIS 33,000 (N/6, Appendix F)
In 2018 - NIS 38,000 (N/6, Appendix F)