VR Capital Group Sues ENDVR MTA and Guy Harel for $2.55 Million

VR Capital Group, holding a 17.5% stake in Maccabi Tel Aviv and headed by businessman Richard Deitz, filed a separate lawsuit on Wednesday against ENDVR MTA, led by Jason Levin, and Guy Harel, who brokered the acquisition of shares from the Recanati family and Shimon Mizrahi. The lawsuit was filed through attorneys Zohar Lande, Eyal Nachshon, Shay Blue, and Shani Tzur from the Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co. law firm.

The plaintiff company is seeking damages under tort law and unjust enrichment, claiming the defendants caused a breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and negligence. They are demanding a financial remedy of $2.55 million, which represents the estimated damage to the plaintiff. The claim asserts that the share transfer maneuvers to the defendant company, along with board decisions and transfer notices, were executed in violation of the shareholders' agreement and infringed upon Deitz's rights.

According to the statement of claim, the defendants orchestrated a back-to-back deal with the Recanati and Mizrahi family companies, utilizing the Recanati family's right of first refusal over the Federman family shares to transfer them to the defendant. After the plaintiff exercised its right of first refusal regarding the transfer to Levin's company, it also exercised its right over Ben Ashkenazi's shares, which would have increased its stake to 55.5%.

"Instead of respecting the plaintiff's rights, the defendants, together with Naftali and Nyuko (companies belonging to the Recanati family and Shimon Mizrahi), promoted an additional transaction designed to bypass the transfer restrictions in the agreement: transferring approximately 14% of the club's shares to the defendant, including 7.5% from Naftali and 6.5% from Nyuko," the lawsuit states.