KANAGAWA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested the former deputy manager of the Yokohama branch of Hana Shinkin Bank on suspicion of stealing cash from a safe deposit box.
The total amount stolen by Lee Seung-hyun, a 49-year-old North Korean national, is believed to be more than 1 billion yen, reports TBS News (Mar. 4).
Between September 2021 and March of last year, Lee allegedly stole approximately 619 million yen in cash stored in safe deposit boxes by customers of the branch.
Lee admitted to the charges during questioning and made a statement to the effect that he “used the money for gambling.”
According to the police, Lee is believed to have made spare keys to the safe deposit boxes and taken out the cash on more than 100 occasions.
The branch’s security camera system captured Lee entering safe deposit boxes outside of business hours and on holidays.
Police believing that Lee has repeatedly committed crimes using the same method since he was assigned to the Yokohama branch in 2016, with the total amount taken exceeding 1 billion yen.
