Israel’s Dankner Adds Securities Fraud Probe to Cash Squeeze

As Israel’s largest holding companies struggled to refinance debt during the global financial crisis in 2009, Nochi Dankner was expanding, buying stakes in French retailer Carrefour SA, HSBC Holdings Plc’s Manhattan building and Credit Suisse Group AG.

Now, as his IDB Holding Corp. struggles under about 2 billion shekels ($514 million) of debt, he’s selling, not buying. He arranged an equity investment of as much as $100 million from Argentine businessman Eduardo Elsztain and sold an insurance company to a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for $221 million. His list of challenges grew yesterday when Danker said the Israel Securities Authority is investigating him for involvement in securities fraud.