Supermodel Bar Refaeli alleges identity theft
Amid probe into tax fraud, celebrity denies ties to suspicious transfers involving foreign account in her name
Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, who is facing an investigation into tax fraud, filed a police complaint on Wednesday claiming that her identity was stolen, after a report on economic news site Calcalist linked her name to a series of suspicious bank transfers.
The report, published on Sunday, ties Refaeli to a bank account in Singapore which had received transfers from a Swiss account held by businessman Amir Bramly, the owner of the Rubicon Business Group and Kela Fund who has been under investigation for investor fraud.
Refaeli’s lawyer Udi Barzilai denied the allegations in the Calcalist report.
“These things never happened,” Barzilai said. “This is a pack of lies. It is very unfortunate.”
Calcalist also reported on Wednesday evening that the probe against Refaeli was continuing, with Tax Authority investigators collecting documents from UBS offices in Herzliya and questioning a representative of the Credit Suisse bank in Israel.
The ongoing probe went public in December, when reports said that allegations against Refaeli concerned “tens of millions” of shekels that she had failed to report to tax authorities. She also allegedly sought to avoid tax by falsely claiming not to be living in Israel.
Refaeli, who denies any criminal offense, has been barred from leaving the country without official permission.
