Russia trying to seize tens millions of dollars of Jewish immigrants’ assets in Israel

Russian authorities target billions of rubles in assets owned by Jewish immigrants living in Israel, who say they are being persecuted over their political beliefs.

By World Israel News Staff

Russian authorities are pursuing millions of dollars in assets belonging to wealthy Russian-born Jews now living in Israel, prompting accusations that Moscow is using Israeli courts to extend politically motivated financial prosecutions beyond Russia’s borders.

At least 22 proceedings have been initiated in Israel involving Jewish immigrants from Russia, with property at stake estimated at no less than 2 billion rubles — roughly 70 million shekels.

Those fighting the cases argue that Russian bankruptcy and insolvency rulings are being used to target Israeli homes and other assets after the businessmen fled Russia.

The cases are possible because Israeli law permits courts to recognize qualifying foreign insolvency proceedings and grant foreign administrators powers concerning assets located in Israel.

Israel adopted legislation based on the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in 2018, as part of a broader overhaul of the country’s insolvency system. The law took effect in September 2019.

Critics of the current cases say Israeli courts are applying those provisions too mechanically and failing to investigate whether some of the underlying Russian proceedings were politically motivated.

They argue that the problem has become particularly acute since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent wave of Western sanctions and disputes with wealthy Russians who moved assets abroad.

The highest-profile figure involved is Boris Spiegel, 73, a former member of Russia’s Federation Council, former pharmaceutical magnate and president of the World Congress of Russian-Speaking Jewry.

Spiegel was arrested in Russia in March 2021 alongside then-Penza regional governor Ivan Belozertsev.

Russian investigators accused Spiegel and others of providing more than 31 million rubles in bribes in return for advantages in government pharmaceutical contracts. He was convicted in January 2024 and sentenced to 11 years in prison, while Belozertsev received a 12-year sentence.

Spiegel has maintained that the prosecution was fabricated as part of an effort to strip him of his pharmaceutical empire.

Questions about the case were raised even at the time of his arrest, when Russian political observers suggested the proceedings could be connected to a struggle for control of the lucrative pharmaceutical sector, although those allegations were never established in court.

Spiegel was released in late 2024 because of serious health problems and subsequently returned to Israel. His former wife, Yevgenia Spiegel, was also convicted and remains imprisoned in Russia.

Russian authorities confiscated property belonging to the family inside Russia worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the Israeli report.

The legal fight has now moved to Spiegel’s villa in Savyon.

Russian-linked proceedings in Israel, arising from Yevgenia Spiegel’s bankruptcy in Russia, seek some 202 million rubles — more than NIS 7 million — and have resulted in restrictions affecting Spiegel’s rights in the property. His attorneys argue that he is being subjected to sweeping measures despite technically being a third party to the insolvency case against his former wife.

Spiegel and his family have appealed to Israel’s Justice Ministry and are preparing a petition to the High Court of Justice seeking intervention. His attorneys are calling for Israel to suspend recognition of Russian insolvency proceedings involving immigrants who claim they are targets of political persecution.

“The State of Israel abandoned us and is cooperating with Russia,” Spiegel said, according to a report by Ynet.

The confrontation is particularly striking because Spiegel was once closely connected to both Russian and Israeli political circles. During his decade in the Federation Council, he chaired the Israel-Russia Friendship Association and was involved in projects aimed at strengthening relations between the countries.

He helped promote the visa-waiver agreement between Israel and Russia, worked on a pension agreement benefiting Russian immigrants in Israel and was involved in the establishment of the Red Army victory monument in Netanya that Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurated during a 2012 visit.

A second case involves Eduard Kabakov, a Russian-born Jewish immigrant living in Bat Yam.

Kabakov said a Russian state insurance entity pursued approximately $9 million from him in Russia using documents that he alleges contained a forged signature.

He says he succeeded in having the Russian lawsuit dismissed after demonstrating that the signature was not his, but proceedings connected to his Russian bankruptcy have continued in Israel and threaten his apartment.

He has also alleged antisemitic behavior by the Russian judge who handled his case.

Separate Russian reporting confirms that a Tatarstan arbitration court declared Kabakov bankrupt in June 2026 and ordered the sale of his property.

Creditor claims totaling more than 880 million rubles had been entered against him in the Russian proceeding.

The Israeli cases have now become the focus of a group organized by Spiegel comprising the 22 Russian-born Jews facing similar proceedings.

Their central argument is not that Israel should refuse all foreign insolvency cases, but that courts should examine whether Russian proceedings are legitimate commercial cases or instruments of state pressure before allowing Russian-appointed administrators to reach assets in Israel.

One senior Israeli minister told Ynet that Israel is the only Western country which cooperates with Russia’s “economic pressure” on “people they do not want.”

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