Former MUFG Bank staff member arrested over safe deposit box thefts

A former employee of MUFG Bank was arrested Tuesday over the alleged theft of valuables from customers' safe deposit boxes, police said.

Yukari Imamura, 46, is suspected of stealing around 20 kilograms of gold bars worth around 260 million yen deposited by two male customers at the bank's Nerima branch in Tokyo around September last year, they said.

According to the main banking unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, the woman is also suspected of stealing assets worth over 1 billion yen from the safe deposit boxes some 60 customers at multiple branches over a roughly four-and-a-half-year period through October 2024.

Imamura, who has admitted to stealing the gold bars, is believed to have incurred significant losses from foreign exchange margin trading and horse racing, according to police.

The former employee, who managed safe deposit boxes at some MUFG Bank branches, is believed to have inappropriately used a spare key stored at the Nerima branch, investigative sources said. The gold was sold to various pawnshops and buyers.

The bank said the incident came to light on Oct 31 after it received an inquiry from a client.

The bank fired the woman, who admitted to having stolen client assets, on Nov. 14 and filed criminal charges against her the following month.

On Tuesday, the bank vowed to "fully cooperate with the investigation" and to take measures to prevent similar incidents. It said it takes the case seriously, describing it as a one that "shakes (public) trust" in the banking sector.

An investigation found no evidence of similar incidents at other branches, the bank said.

Imamura, who had worked at the bank for over 25 years without any issues before her dismissal, previously held managerial-level positions at branches.

© KYODO