Bank of Jerusalem shares fell sharply on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Thursday after it emerged that one of the women missing in the mysterious disappearance case in Vienna, Austria, is a bank employee.
The revelation of the bank employee's direct connection to the case sparked considerable concern among capital market investors over possible ramifications, sending the share price sharply lower.
Bank officials said there was no connection between the bank's share price and the fact that one of the missing women works there. "We understand that an incident like this raises concerns and uncertainty," they said. "It should be emphasized that, apart from the fact that she is a bank employee, no connection has been found between the incident and the bank."
In the wake of the concerns and sharp market fluctuations, Bank of Jerusalem conducted an urgent internal review and issued an official clarification intended to rule out any financial harm to customers or the bank's assets: "Following the review that was conducted, no findings were discovered indicating any unusual activity involving the bank's funds or assets."
A court on Thursday morning imposed a gag order on the investigation into the disappearance of Mali and Liel Yahalomi in Vienna. The order was issued at the request of the Israel Police's National Unit for International Crime Investigations, part of the Lahav 433 major-crimes unit, and prohibits publication of any details relating to the investigation.
Mali and Liel Yahalomi have been out of contact since the evening of Friday, Aug. 7. The loss of contact is highly unusual. Throughout their trip, they stayed in touch with their family, sharing photos and experiences, until communication abruptly ceased. Moshe Yahalomi, Mali's brother, told Israel Hayom: "The trip was Liel's gift to Mali for her 50th birthday, which she celebrated last Thursday. Mali works as a manager at Bank of Jerusalem. Liel comes from a religious family, my sister is religious, and works for the furniture company Etz Maleh."
Yahalomi added: "The Foreign Ministry and the police are accompanying us and keeping us updated through designated contacts. The Modiin Municipality is also making extensive efforts to help in every area and is in direct contact with the family through Rivi, the mayor's bureau chief. As a family, we have also brought in Magen, a search and rescue company, to assist with the investigation through personnel it has on the ground."
