Business in Brief

BoI: Bank workers stole NIS 14.2m last year

	Cottage cheese on sale.
	Photo by: Ilan Asayag

Do bank workers steal? How much? Answers: Yes, and NIS 14.2 million in 2011, according to figures the Bank of Israel released on Tuesday. Only 13 bank workers were caught defrauding their employer last year, down from 20 in 2010. But those 13 helped themselves to more; in 2010, the thievery had totaled only NIS 4.9 million. However, the figures for 2011 are skewed by one case, a Bank Mizrahi-Tefahout branch manager in Carmiel who stole NIS 12.7 million. He allegedly opened fake bank accounts and had his bank branch grant them loans backed by imaginary collateral. He has since fled Israel. The investigation continues. (Sivan Aizescu )

Victory opens discount store in Tel Aviv

On Tuesday afternoon, the ABA Victory discount chain opened its first supermarket in Tel Aviv, on Lincoln Street. Victory already had one store in Tel Aviv, on Ahad Ha'am Street, but it isn't a discount branch: Its prices were lower than those at Mega in the City and AM:PM, but higher than at discount chains Super-Sol Deal, Mega Bool and Rami Levi Shivuk Hashikma, company owner Eyal Ravid said when the first store launched. Not so the new store: "The branch on Lincoln will be full discount," Ravid vowed on Tuesday. "This branch will compete over prices with Mega Bool, Super-Sol Deal and the whole country." But this is still Tel Aviv - there's no parking outside. (Adi Dovrat-Meseritz )

Strauss to Espresso Club: Stop badmouthing us

Three weeks after food manufacturer Strauss Group backed out of buying Espresso Club, the bad feelings are escalating. Strauss threatened to sue the company and its founder, Oren Tal, on Tuesday, accusing him of slandering Strauss and revealing business secrets learned during negotiations. In November, Strauss had agreed to buy Espresso Club for NIS 23 million, plus NIS 7 million more dependent on milestones. But ultimately it backed out, saying the company failed the due diligence test. At the time, Tal countered that Strauss' claims were specious and hinted that he'd sue. On Tuesday, he claimed that instead of buying Espresso Club, Strauss is allying with its supplier in Italy, Caffita, and that the two are thinking of building a plant to make espresso machine capsules in Brazil. Strauss says his claims are groundless. (Adi Dovrat-Meseritz )

Ben-Gurion Airport ranked 3rd in region

The Ben-Gurion International Airport ranked third in a satisfaction survey for 2011, the Airports Council International said on Tuesday. This was the second year Ben-Gurion ranked third after falling from its top ranking in 2009. Last year and in 2010, Ben-Gurion was beaten out by Dubai and Bahrain. The survey consists of more than 30 questions answered by passengers, who rank their satisfaction from check-in until they board the plane. ‏(Zohar Blumenkrantz‏)

Litzman ousting Health Ministry ombudswoman

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman won’t be giving the ministry ombudswoman a second five-year term, citing her spineless handling of the health maintenance organizations. Eti Samama claims in response that she performed her job well: She increased public awareness of the ombudsman’s existence, and not only waded through piles of complaints unhandled by her predecessor, she also handled the growing number of new complaints. Litzman counters that she wrote only one report in five years. Samama rebuts that she uploaded her decisions to the ministry website in real time. Also, neither Litzman nor anyone else complained during her time in office, Samama says. The ministry says it’s looking to give her another job. ‏(Ronny Linder-Ganz‏)