High-tech entrepreneur Moshe Yanai declared bankrupt over $42 million debt
Yanai’s assets, including a luxury penthouse, to be liquidated by court-appointed trustee.
Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court Judge Lior Gelbard issued a bankruptcy order on Tuesday for high-tech entrepreneur Moshe Yanai, following a debt of approximately $42 million owed by his investment company, MII, to the Cayman Islands-registered investment fund Scintilla.
The ruling means that all of Yanai’s foreclosed assets, previously subject to temporary seizure orders, will be sold by the appointed trustee, Attorney Shuli Goldblatt. According to prior agreements between the parties, and despite objections from the insolvency commissioner at the Ministry of Justice, Goldblatt will manage the liquidation process. Among the foreclosed assets is a luxurious penthouse on Antokolski Street in Tel Aviv, owned by Yanai and his late wife Rachel, which Yanai had attempted to sell for NIS 58 million before being declared bankrupt.
Official land registry documents show that the property carries multiple financial encumbrances: a lien in favor of the Scintilla fund, a NIS 70 million mortgage with Bank Leumi, and a NIS 10 million lien in favor of businessman Shlomi Fogel’s AMPA.
Judge Gelbard’s decision imposes additional restrictions on Yanai, including a ban on leaving the country, classification as a restricted banking customer, limitations on credit card usage, and a prohibition on establishing companies or registering as a director. Yanai is required to meet periodically with Attorney Goldblatt for investigation or clarification regarding his debts, make monthly payments to the bankruptcy fund, and submit regular reports on his income and expenses. Simultaneously, all ongoing legal proceedings against Yanai are suspended.
The bankruptcy order follows an agreement approved by Judge Gelbard on August 18. Under that agreement, Yanai was required to repay or refinance his loan from Scintilla within 60 days; failure to do so would automatically trigger bankruptcy proceedings, allowing the fund to liquidate his assets to cover the debt. Yanai has previously claimed in court that his personal assets in Israel and abroad total approximately $1.1 billion, far exceeding the debt owed.
Even before the order took effect, Yanai attempted to sell his Antokolski Street penthouse. Land registry documents describe the property as a one-story penthouse on the 8th and top floor, with an interior of 390 square meters and a 250-square-meter balcony that includes a private pool. The residence has three bedrooms, each with private bathrooms (one as a separate unit), two home offices, and a private elevator that opens directly into the apartment.
MII, jointly owned by Yanai and his late wife Rachel, manages Yanai’s investments in technology companies. Its holdings include the Israeli data storage firm Infinidat, which raised $350 million and was recently acquired by Chinese computing giant Lenovo; shares in trading platform eToro, sold by Yanai for $17 million; cybersecurity company KoolSpan, which provides services to the U.S. Department of Defense; laser sensor company Maradin in Yokneam; and biotechnology firm Quris, which uses artificial intelligence to predict drug development outcomes.
Scintilla is represented by attorneys Amnon Biss and Maya Ben Meir of Gornitzky GNY law firm, while Moshe Yanai is represented by Yossi Ben Naftali of Matri-Meiri law firm.
