Cineworld Group PLC (LSE:CINE)’s boss has fallen foul of the Israeli courts which have dished out a suspended prison sentence and handed a hefty fine to the head of the embattled cinema chain.
Mooky Greidinger, the CEO of the ailing movie theatre group, was found to be indirectly responsible for failing to prevent the breach of terms of a merger agreement dating back to 2010.
According to the Israeli Anti‐Trust Authority, Cineword’s Israeli distribution subsidiary, Forum Film, failed to provide eight children’s films to Tel Aviv-based Lev Cinema, a rival of his Rav Hen chain, after the merger agreement.
It is understood the merger agreement refers to the 2010 merger of Forum Film and another Israeli outfit, Matalon.
As a result, the Israeli court fined Forum Film £150,000 while Greidinger was personally fined about £23,000.
The prison sentence, which was suspended as part of a plea bargain, is conditional on Greidinger having no further anti‐trust offences in the next 24 months.
In a statement, Cineworld said that the judgment is not expected to have any impact on the continued operations of Forum Film, Cineworld Group or Greidinger’s position as CEO of Cineworld.
The judgement adds to the challenges facing Greidinger and Cineworld, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.