JERUSALEM, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- One of Israeli most powerful tycoons started to serve three-year prison sentence on Tuesday for security fraud, Israel's Prison Service said in a statement.
Nochi Dankner, 63, arrived in the morning at the Maasiyahu Prison in central Israel accompanied by his son-in-law and lawyer.
"This is a difficult day for me and my family," Dankner told reporters at the entrance of the prison.
"I have fought for my innocence......I trust the justice and legal system and love the State of Israel very much," he added.
He is expected to spend his sentence at the so-called "VIP wing," which was built before former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert started to spend there his prison term for corruption.
Dankner was convicted of fraud, in which millions of shekels were invested in fraudulent stock transactions in an attempt to manipulate share price of the IDB group.
Dankner was once the main shareholder of the group.
In August, Israel's Supreme Court rejected his appeal against his conviction in stock manipulation.
The court also rejected his appeal against the two-year prison term sentenced to him by a district court in 2017 and sentenced him a heavier prison term.
Dankner was once a powerful tycoon in Israel and a popular celebrity. Media widely referred to him as "the king of tycoons."
His pyramid-like company included a major supermarket chain, a large cellular company, an internet company, a cement monopoly company, a large insurance company, and one of Israel's main newspapers.
Dankner's business began to collapse in the 2007 global financial crisis.
