Bank of Jerusalem stock plummets, revives amid rumors over employee’s disappearance in Vienna

The Bank of Jerusalem’s stock swung erratically on Thursday, suffering sharp drops followed by partial recoveries, amid rampant speculation over the disappearance of bank employee Mali Yahalomi and unsubstantiated social media rumors that bank funds were somehow involved.

At one point the stock lost some 12 percent. It then largely recovered, and as of 2 p.m. was down about 2%.

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Yahalomi, 50, vanished with her daughter Liel, 23, in Vienna on Friday, and Israeli and Austrian authorities are probing their disappearance.

An Israeli gag order was placed on the case early Thursday, and the disappearance is reportedly being investigated by a department in the Israel Police’s  Lahav 433 major crimes unit, which handles white-collar crime.

The Ynet news site reported Wednesday that authorities are looking into the possibility that the two women withdrew a significant amount of cash and that local data was erased from their phones days before their disappearance.

But the Bank of Jerusalem said in a statement that it had conducted a review into the matter and that “no findings were identified indicating any irregular activity involving the bank’s funds or assets.”

CEO Yair Kaplan wrote to employees, “It should be emphasized that, aside from the fact that [Mali Yahalomi] is a bank employee, no connection has been found between the incident and the bank.”

Israel’s embassy in Austria said Tuesday that Mali Yahalomi and her adult daughter Liel were last seen Friday in the Austrian capital and asked for urgent help locating the two.

The embassy does not believe that their disappearance is related to anti-Israel sentiment, Channel 12 reported. Additionally, Markus Dittrich, a spokesman for the Vienna police, told Austrian news outlets that there was “currently no indication of foul play.”

The Haaretz daily, citing police sources, reported Wednesday that “the assessment is strengthening that the missing women were not harmed in a criminal incident. According to one of the sources, the assessment right now is that they disappeared on their own volition.”

The family, however, urged against ruling out the possibility of terrorism, saying recent publications citing police sources “have created an impression among the public that a conclusion has been reached regarding the circumstances of Mali and Liel’s disappearance.”

“The family wishes to unequivocally make it clear that… there is no basis for ruling out the possibility of a terror incident,” it said in a statement.

Mali and Liel Yahalomi arrived in Vienna from Prague by train last week. Because the family does not use electronic devices on Friday night to Saturday evening Sabbath, their relatives did not suspect anything out of the ordinary until Sunday morning, when their text messages to the mother and daughter did not go through.

According to reports, the two did not keep their Friday night Shabbat dinner plans or pick up the food they had ordered from a kosher restaurant for Saturday.

Israel’s embassy in Austria has requested that anyone with information on their whereabouts call +43 6763672304 or contact the local police.

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