TOKYO (TR) – Following revelations that a former Mitsubishi UFJ Bank employee stole over 1 billion yen worth of valuables from safe deposit boxes, it has been discovered that the former employee sold precious metals at second-hand shops.
As previously reported, a female managerial employee in her 40s opened safe deposit boxes while working at the Nerima and Tamagawa branches of Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and stole money and valuables inside between April 2020 and October 2024.
The bank previously said that the amount of lost assets is over 1 billion yen. Last month, it dismissed the employee for disciplinary reasons.
In the latest development, investigators have revealed that the former employee repeatedly brought gold bars stolen from safe deposit boxes to multiple second-hand shops in Tokyo and sold them. The cash obtained from the sales was used for investments and other purposes, reports the Mainichi Shimbun (Dec. 30).
Tokyo Metropolitan Police are investigating the case with a view of charing the former employee with theft.
Amount lost is expected to increase
The former employee managed the keys to the safe deposit boxes. Previous reports said that she used her authority as a manager to break the seal on the spare keys and open the safe deposit boxes.
The bank initially announced that about 60 customers had been victimized and that the total damage was worth more than 1 billion yen, but dozens more cases have been reported at the two branches. As a result, the amount lost is expected to increase.
The bank says it will strengthen its measures regarding spare keys to prevent recurrence. It has indicated its intention to move to a system in which spare keys are managed centrally at headquarters rather than at each location by January. It will also establish a system in which multiple personnel check the keys.
On December 16, the Financial Services Agency issued a request order to the bank under the Banking Act regarding this series of problems. President Junichi Hanzawa apologized at a press conference, saying, “This is an incident that shakes the foundation of banking business, which is trust and faith. I deeply regret it.”
