FinTelegram recently reported about the US indictment against the Israeli lawyer Moshe Strugano charging him with securities fraud and insider trading. In parallel, the SEC filed a complaint against him and his alleged Israeli co-conspirator Rinat Gazit. The agency claims that both have performed an insider trading coup in 2017 and 2018 around the public-listed US company Ormat Technologies, Inc. Gazit worked as the Head of Mergers and Acquisitions for Ormat and allegedly tipped off Strugano. They allegedly made $1.2 million in profits via Struganov’s offshore entity.
Read the background story on the US court procedures here.
Moshe Strugano told The Times of Israel that he rejects the allegations. While the US indictment does not disclose the name of Strugano’s alleged co-conspirator, the SEC exposes the Israeli Rinat Gazit. The SEC complaint describes Gazit and Strugano as “close, personal friends.” At the time of the alleged insider trading in 2017, Gazit was in charge of mergers and acquisitions at Ormat.
According to the SEC complaint, on December 19, 2017, Gazit attended a meeting of Ormat’s board of directors, during which Ormat’s Board approved the U.S. Geothermal acquisition. Immediately after, Gazit sent a coded WhatsApp message to Strugano notifying him of the approved acquisition. Less than one minute later, Moshe Strugano made repeated attempts to contact his broker, and within eight minutes he placed an order to buy U.S. Geothermal stock.
The SEC’s complaint charges Moshe Strugano and Rinat Gazit with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and it seeks a permanent injunction, civil penalties, and disgorgement with prejudgment interest against Strugano, and a permanent injunction, civil penalties, and an officer and director bar against Gazit.
