Ex-chairman of Israel's top bank sentenced to one year in prison for fraud

An Israeli court on Thursday pronounced a sentence of one year in prison on Dan Dankner, former chairman of Israel's largest bank Hapoalim Bank, for fraud while he served as the bank chief.

Dankner was also given a one-million shekel (about 284,000 U.S. dollars) fine and one-year suspended prison sentence.

In a plea bargain signed in October, Dankner admitted committing crimes of fraud and breach of trust, and harming the proper management of a banking corporation.

"Acts such as those committed by Dankner harm the public's trust in the banking system," Judge Zvi Gurfinkel wrote in his decision.

"A bank that loses the public's trust could collapse," the judge said. "Dankner's conduct reflects a significant worsening of corporate governance at Bank Hapoalim. His behavior must be seen to be uprooted by the corporation's directors."

The main indictment against Dankner deals with conflict of interests while Hapoalim Bank was negotiating a deal to acquire Turkey's BankPozitif. Dankner led the bank to award RP Capital, a third party company that helped broker the deal, 25 million U.S. dollars, while failing to disclose that the control holders of the company are his cousins.