Mercantile Discount Bank is a major commercial bank in Israel and is a subsidiary of Israel Discount Bank. It is the sixth-largest bank in Israel.
Controversies
Involvement in Israeli settlements
On 12 February 2020, the United Nations published a database of companies doing business related in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as in the occupied Golan Heights.[1] Mercantile Discount Bank was listed on the database on account of its activities in Israeli settlements in these occupied territories,[2] which are considered illegal under international law.[3]
Tax fraud affair in Australia
In 2021, MDB and its parent company IDB reached a settlement of ₪343 million (A$137 million) with the Australian Taxation Office after allegedly conspiring with the Sydney-based Binetter family to engage in tax fraud.[4]
References
- Database of all business enterprises involved in certain activities relating to Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank (A/HRC/43/71) UN OCHA, 12 Feb 2020, retrieved 2021-09-12^
- UN rights office issues report on business activities related to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 12 February 2020, retrieved 5 July 2021^
- S/RES/2334(2016) United Nations Security Council, 23 December 2016, retrieved 5 July 2021^
- Neil Chenoweth. ATO wins $137m from Binetters' Israeli banks after 16-year pursuit Australian Financial Review, 1 February 2021, retrieved 29 July 2021^