Amir Bramly

As of February 2017, there is an unresolved criminal trial proceeding against Bramly.

Amidst allegations of his businesses being a ponzi scheme Bramly's business empire was placed in permanent liquidation in January 2016, and a court order prohibiting disposition of assets was placed on Bramly and members of his family.

After the beginning of civil court case, Bramly has claimed that the liquidity crises at Kela was caused by overzealous media coverage, repeated warnings by the Israel Securities Authority, and malfeasance by Bank Hapoalim. Bramly has claimed that without these there wouldn't have been any liquidity crises, and that these organizations are responsible for hundreds of millions of shekels in damage to investors. In response to allegations he has operated a ponzi scheme or pyramid scheme Bramly has stated to the press that "That the group is not any geometric shape that has been attributed to it.". In 2016 he has attempted, unsuccessfully in light of opposition by the court appointed liquidator and the court, to reach a debt settlement with the creditors, mainly investors, of Rubicon-Kela by offering shares in a new investment company and has employed former district court liquidation judge Varda Alsech to promote the matter. Audaciously, he has also placed his own debt claim, of 47.2 million NIS, against Rubicon and Kela due to backpay for his employment in the companies and reimbursement due to capital transfers to the companies and affiliated companies.

In the beginning of 2015, the Israel Securities Authority launched an investigation into Kela and issued a series of highly public warnings to the general public regarding the Kela Fund and Amir Bramly personally. Bramly did not back down in light of this pressure, and fought back, including by making stern public statements against ISA, and in September holding a press conference in which he stated that "ISA and the public don't understand the new economy, it's like claiming a digital clock is not a clock since it doesn't have hands." and that "ISA's actions against him belong in dark anti-democratic countries".

In light of public warnings, Bramly was facing increasing capital outflows in Kela brand companies of not only regular interest payments but of investors that exercised their right to withdraw funds at the end of their investment period instead of rolling them over into a new investment period. In the summer of 2015 Kela fund's payments to investors, which up until that point were performed regularly, became irregular, and investors did not receive their funds in a prompt manner. In October 2015, liquidation proceedings began against Kela. During the proceedings, more than 300 million NIS of unfulfilled debt, mostly from investors, were set before the court. In addition, the court appointed liquidator produced a report claiming that funds in the Kela fund were not actually used for "Capital completion", but rather funneled into Rubicon Business Group, and that in addition that funds were moved from Rubicon to Bramly and his family, due to which a court order prohibiting disposition of assets was placed on Bramly and members of his family. As a result, the Kela fund, Rubicon Business Group, and a number of held companies were placed in permanent liquidation by the Tel-Aviv district court in January 2016 after the court determined that funds were inter-meshed between the companies, and that debts, mainly to investors, exceeded assets.

However other investments such as a furniture business, restaurants, a hot air balloon, and the trash recycling public company WTP which started out with lofty ambitions and in 2014 had a peak traded value of 230 million NIS, but subsequently collapsed were not as successful.

In 2014, the Israel Securities Authority limited the ability of private companies to circumvent prospectus requirements by artificially creating different investment paths to raise capital from more than 35 investors per year by utilizing an existing prospectus waiver for less than 35 investors per annum for each separate investment path offering. This directly affected Bramly's activity via Kela which at that time was raising funds from more than 35 investors per year by utilizing the 35 investor waiver on different investment paths. Subsequently, Bramly attempted to turn Kela into a public company via purchasing a publicly traded shelf corporation and raising capital publicly by issuing a prospectus. However ISA's subsequent actions prevented the shelf corporation from issuing a prospectus to investors beyond the draft stage, thus preventing the corporation from raising capital in a regulated fashion from non-Accredited investors, and in October 2015, in light of developing circumstances, Bramly sold the shelf corporation to a different entrepreneur. While attempting to go public, Bramly continued in 2015 to raise funds from investors without a prospectus via the Kela brand, though some changes were made to both the legal entity framework and in investment offerings to some potential investors which included in 2015 project specific collateral as opposed to the general "Capital Completion" strategy of years prior.

Most of the funds were raised from Israeli investors, however there were also some fund raising attempts in the United States via Kela Fund USA from October 2013 onward.

Whereas Kela was presented to potential investors as a very low risk investment for 1–2 years, Hagshama investments were portrayed as somewhat riskier Mezzanine capital investments in mostly Real Estate with an expected return of 20% per annum and an investment horizon of 2 to 5 years. Thus, Hagshama was in a sense a complementary investment offering to Kela.

During 2013-2016, Amir Bramly sharply criticized in a public manner the Israel Securities Authority and other government and regulatory bodies, claiming that over-regulation and poor management are holding back small businesses and the Israeli economy.

Hagshama Fund is a private company that organizes investment partnerships, typically with up to 35 investors per partnership. Bramly was a partner in Hagashama since its foundation in 2009 and until he sold his share at the end of 2013, when at that point Hagshama managed 1.5 Billion NIS. Bramly actively marketed Hagshama during this time.

2006 was a very difficult year for him. On a personal level his father passed away, and on the business front the 2006 Lebanon War nearly wiped him out financially, as most of his businesses were in the north of country and were affected by the war. Bramly has said, however, that through hard work and perseverance he was able to bounce back.

Following his discharge from the IDF, Bramly set up a scuba diving instruction business in Eilat. According to Bramly he raised the 40,000 NIS initial capital required for the business by telling a different story to three different banks. He sold this business in 2000 for 1,000,000 NIS.

Amir Bramly (Hebrew: אמיר ברמלי ‎, alternative English: Amir Bramli) (born October 4, 1976) is an Israeli investor and business man. He is the founder and former manager of Rubicon Business Group (in dissolution) and "Kela Fund" (in dissolution), and former partner in Hagshama fund. At the height of his career, Bramly controlled dozens of companies, and received intense media coverage both of his own dealings and as an interviewed expert.