TOKYO (TR) – A female former staff member at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is suspected in the theft of more than 1 billion yen from the safe deposit boxes of customers over a four-year period, the company said last week.
“This case shakes the very foundation of our business — trust and confidence,” the company said in a statement on November 22. “Our top priority will be to respond to the inconvenience caused to customers and to allay the concerns of all customers who place their trust in the bank.”
From April 2020 to October 2024, customer assets stored in safe deposit boxes at two branches in Nerima Ward and the Tamagawa area were stolen, the company said.
On October 31, a customer complained that the amount of items stored in their safe deposit box had decreased.
When the bank employee was asked about the missing assets, she admitted to the theft. She was dismissed on November 14.
An investigation by an external lawyer is still ongoing, with approximately 60 victims having been identified. The total amount stolen is over one billion yen.
MUFG has not revealed details about the former employee in question, but a person involved with the bank confirmed to Shukan Bunshun: “The employee in question is a woman. She is married but has no children. She has short hair, big eyes, and a cute appearance. When the incident was discovered, she was working at the Tamagawa branch, and was in charge of counter operations and safe deposit box management.”
