Josh Breiner, crime and legal affairs correspondent for Haaretz newspaper, commented Thursday morning on the gag order imposed by Israeli authorities regarding the disappearance of two Israelis in Vienna — mother Mali Yehalomi and daughter Liel Yehalomi. According to Breiner, several conclusions can be drawn from the publication ban itself. Most significantly, he noted that Israel's investigations division has assigned the case to the National Unit for Economic Crime. Why would an economic crimes unit handle a missing persons case? Breiner suggested this indicates investigators believe the women's disappearance has a financial or economic motive, and that a criminal economic investigation is underway in Israel connected to their absence.
Missing in Vienna
Police Eye Economic Motive in Vienna Case
Crime reporter Josh Breiner says assignment of case to economic crimes unit suggests financial background to disappearance of Israeli mother and daughter
Breiner added that according to a police source who spoke with him Wednesday, one of the women worked at a bank. He said it's reasonable to assume investigators are pursuing this angle as part of the criminal probe.
Breiner stated that the possibility the two were abducted by a hostile entity has dropped to a low probability in police assessment, and that based on what he's hearing, the working theory is that they are missing voluntarily. However, he emphasized the need to maintain skepticism about the current direction of the police investigation. The bottom line, he noted, is that the family has received no updates thus far.
