The Story Behind Bar Refaeli’s Tax Evasion Arrest (And Other Sketchiness)

Bar Refaeli holds many titles. She regularly fronts ad campaigns for brands such as Agent Provocateur, Samsung, and Moet & Chandon, but is best known for her bikini appearances in Sports Illustrated SI and the Victoria’s Secret catalog. She also held down a high-profile romance with Leonardo DiCaprio, who’s still shaking off the ashes of the great bear-rape hoax scandal of 2015. Now Refaeli is coping with her own scandal, because she’s been tagged with tax evasion in her native Israel. Page Six recently called the model “so hot it should be illegal,” which feels awfully awkward right about now.

Refaeli does have a history of sketchy interactions with regulations, including whispers of “draft dodging.” Those stem from an Israeli general’s claims that Refaeli dodged the compulsory two-year military service by marrying a family friend (and later divorcing him). There have also been hints that she “played with the tax code” by making moves to declare herself a non-resident of Israel. In addition, Rafaeli was busted smuggling an iPad during a 2010 trip back to Israel, all to avoid an import tax.

The real trouble has commenced.

Page Six reports Refaeli’s arrest for alleged tax evasion. Authorities believe she dodged taxes on “dozens of millions of shekels” by hiding her true residence and, instead, hanging in a luxury apartment rented in her brother’s name. The home was raided on Wednesday, all dramatic-like. The model was taken into custody and grilled for 12 hours and her mom got busted too:

To avoid paying taxes, Refaeli and her mom claimed to an accountant that the model lived outside of the country, the Tax Authority charged. According to authorities, she at one point lived at the YOO Towers in Tel Aviv — but the apartment was rented in her brother’s name, according to Ynet news.

“According to the suspicions, the attempt to cover up these facts and the attempt to distance these properties from the suspect were meant to create a false display according to which the suspect has no ties to Israel, as well as to avoid having to report the income from these barter deals,” the Tax Authority claimed in court.

Refaeli also allegedly failed to report gifts like luxury cars and other celebrity perks such as “discounts” in decorating services. The vehicles were tagged in a prior investigation, and she had signed a contract to pay the taxes on them (but never did). Refaeli and her mother are out on bail, and their passports have been confiscated. They can’t leave the country for 180 days, and when Refaeli eventually does leave, a hefty $64,000 bond is in place.

If all of this is true, Refaeli sure has set herself up with a pattern of regulation-dodging behavior. As Israeli’s highest paid model, she had to have known the tax man would cometh.

(Via Page Six)

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