The heiress to the Carnival Cruise Line fortune may soon be indicted as part of a case involving alleged bribes to government officials for construction contracts in a group of African nations.
Shari Arison, said to be Israel’s richest woman, is the heiress in question. The drama became a topic of conversation in February of 2018, but it was only this past weekend that law enforcement authorities together with the Israel Securities Authority recommended that Arison be indicted.
She and a collection of top managers at the firm Shikun & Binui (Housing & Construction) – said in published reports to be the biggest construction conglomerate in the State of Israel – are alleged to have offered a bribe. Interestingly, it is only relatively recently in the Jewish State’s history that such offenses have been strictly enforced among business leaders.
“This is a complex investigation, in which 50 suspects were interrogated and 34 testimonies were taken,” the police’s Lahav 433 Major Crimes Unit said.
At least 19 Kenyan citizens have been arrested in connection with the investigation, which is being carried out in conjunction with the Kenyan police, according to i24News.
The official statement by the police continued, “Bribes totaling tens of millions of shekels were transferred, which generated jobs and benefits measured in hundreds of millions of shekels.” In Kenya, Shikun & Binui’s projects primarily center on road construction and maintenance.
Arison’s father, Ted Arison, is renowned as the man who established Carnival Cruise Lines. He was also one of the driving forces behind Israel’s biggest bank, Bank Hapoalim.
Arison’s personal fortune is said to come in somewhere in excess of $5 billion.
The Jewish Voice reported extensively on Arison’s travail’s last year as she faced questioning – along with CEO of Arison Investment Efrad Peled — by an anti-corruption unit known as Lahav 433.
Shikun & Binui became part of the probe in the first place because of possible bribery of foreign government officials, according to police and Israel Securities Authority. The purpose of the bribes were allegedly supposed to help the company get lucrative construction projects okayed by foreign countries.
“As part of the Israel Police’s organized battle against offenses relating to public corruption, the investigation continues into bribery of a foreign public employee and offenses under the Securities Law,” according to Israel Securities Authority.
The Arison Group said in a statement at that time, “Shari Arison and Efrat Peled were summoned in advance to Lahav offices 433. They cooperated fully and are confident that there was no flaw in their conduct – and that this will also be the conclusion of the law enforcement authorities. The Arison Group has zero tolerance for any inappropriate conduct. The group worked, works and will work to set high ethical standards in all its activities and fields of investment in Israel and around the world – and will continue to do business with added value for the benefit of the economy, society and the environment.”
Officials at the company told the Jerusalem Post in 2018 that some of the employees were dealing with the police over potential bribery in Africa. CEO Ofer Kotler was among the four employees, some former, who had answered police questions so far related to the probe.
Arison has an interesting past herself, we noted at the time. Her biography says she is an American-Israeli businesswoman and philanthropist who was born in America in 1957. The heiress has a beneficial interest in Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company, and leads the Arison Group, a global business and philanthropic group. The group’s business arm, Arison Investments, is made up of the pillars of the Israeli economy, including Bank Hapoalim, Israel’s largest bank, and has been a major backer of former President Bill Clinton.
