Bar Refaeli: Israeli supermodel fined and mother to be jailed over tax evasion case
Zipi Refaeli, the model and TV star's mother, who acted as her agent, is to serve 16 months in jail over the tax evasion case.
Tuesday 9 June 2020 15:48, UK
Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli has been ordered to do nine months of community service and her mother is to be jailed after signing a plea bargain agreement to settle a tax evasion case.
The deal over the long-standing case, built around the star's worldwide income and alleged attempts to downplay her ties to the country, means Refaeli's mother Zipi, who also acted as her agent, will be sent to prison for 16 months.
And they have also been ordered to pay a £790,000 fine, on top of millions of back taxes.
Refaeli remains a popular TV personality in Israel and in 2019 hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv. However, the case has tainted her reputation there somewhat.
It revolves around the model's residence several years ago, when she was in a relationship with Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio and travelled around the world during high-profile campaigns.
In Israel, tax law determines residency primarily upon whether the person spent most of a calendar year in the country. Refaeli said that in certain years she had not and therefore did not have to declare her worldwide income.
The charges against her said the model and TV presenter earned £5.69m between the years 2009-2012, while claiming to live overseas.
But prosecutors rejected her claim and charged her with providing incorrect tax information.
In previous appeals, an Israeli court ruled that Refaeli's relationship with DiCaprio did not qualify as a "family unit", and therefore she could not claim his US home as residence.
Lawyers for Refaeli, who gave birth to her third child in January, said the plea bargain proved she had not intentionally evaded tax payments.
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"In the relevant time period, Bar was in her early 20s, was working as an international model and was not involved in financial matters," they said in a statement. "Today she is taking responsibility for mistakes that were made."
Refaeli's mother was charged with failure to report income, avoiding paying taxes and aiding someone else in evading tax payments.
The indictment said she signed leases for her daughter under the names of other family members to blur Refaeli's actual residency status, and held back from declaring her own income as her daughter's agent.