Leviev divorce saga takes another ugly turn

Shalom Leviev, son of billionaire businessman Lev Leviev, chose to have bankruptcy proceedings opened against him as part of a premeditated strategic plan to improve his position in his divorce proceedings, according to his ex-wife, attorney Orly Leviev.

Orly Leviev's claims were made in a statement she filed with Israel’s Lod District Court on Thursday in reply to a request by the trustee managing Shalom Leviev's assets to sell a house in Savion, of which Orly, Shalom and Lev Leviev each own a third.

Orly Leviev claimed that Shalom and his father created a misrepresentation according to which her ex-husband was fired from LLD Diamonds Ltd., owned by Leviev senior, to help him avoid paying alimony and child support to Orly and her children, estimated at $43,000 per month.

Shalom Leviev was declared bankrupt in July 2019. Attorney Eran Kaufman, who was appointed to manage his assets, requested to sell the co-owned home, in order to cover Shalom’s $200,000 debt to Israel’s Bank Leumi. Orly Leviev agreed to sell on three conditions: that the selling price would be no lower than $3.45 million, that a buyer is found within six months, and that her attorney, Eviater Knoler, would be in charge of the process.

Orly Leviev's supposedly technical answer to the court also included serious allegations of violent behavior by her former husband. "Throughout our 17 years of marriage I experienced constant, daily, and forceful physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual violence," she wrote. According to Orly Leviev, she agreed to marry Shalom after only knowing him for several months. "Shortly after our wedding, it became clear to me that I had tied my destiny with a man that would turn my life into nothing short of hell."

Orly Leviev went on to explain that the marriage ultimately came to an end after 17 years when police were called to their home and arrested Shalom following another in a series of violent outbursts.

She also said Shalom decided to go into bankruptcy proceedings in 2018 in order to pressure her as part of the divorce process.

In response to Calcalist’s request for comment, Lev Leviev’s holding company The Leviev Group stated: "The family does not intend to address issues that come under the right to privacy, or the unfounded accusations made by Orly Leviev or her representatives, that have no basis in reality. All the actions taken by the family or its representatives were done in a lawful manner."