Bank of Jerusalem shares fall amid rumors linking bank to disappearance of employee in Vienna

On Thursday, shares of Bank of Jerusalem experienced a significant drop on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, plummeting as much as 12.3% at their lowest point, amid unfounded rumors linking the bank to the disappearance of employee Mali Yahalomi and her daughter Liel in Vienna. As the day progressed, the decline subsided, with the stock losing 3.5% from the market opening.

Later that day, Police Commissioner Insp. Gen. Danny Levy convened an emergency meeting to reassess the situation surrounding the disappearance. A gag order was issued that morning, prohibiting any disclosure of information regarding the investigation, which is being conducted by the National Unit for Combating Economic Crime under Lahav 433.

However, a police source clarified to ynet that this did not imply a particular investigative focus and emphasized that all potential scenarios were under consideration. The National Unit maintains strong connections with international law enforcement and has the necessary expertise to handle a cross-border investigation of this nature.

Bank of Jerusalem's CEO, Yair Kaplan, informed staff via email that "in recent days, we have seen media reports about the disappearance of Mali Yahalomi. We understand that such an event raises concerns and uncertainty. It should be emphasized that, aside from the fact that she is a bank employee, no connection has been found between the incident and the bank."

The bank also released a statement confirming that no irregular activity was detected in its funds, assets, or those of its customers following an investigation. The stock market was later updated by Bank of Jerusalem, stating, "Further to media reports, Bank of Jerusalem Ltd. respectfully updates that following a thorough review that was conducted, no finding was found indicating any irregular activity in the bank’s funds, its assets or its customers’ funds."