Crime MUFG issues apology for 1 bn yen safe deposit box thefts

MUFG said the employee admitted to taking the money and using it for investments and personal purposes. She was fired and was cooperating with the bank's internal probe and a police investigation but has not yet been arrested. After news of the thefts surfaced, dozens more people came forward with claims of suspected losses that the bank is working to verify, it said. The MUFG case is the second recent one involving criminal activity at a major Japanese financial institution. In November, Nomura Holdings acknowledged that a former employee had been arrested on suspicion of robbery, attempted murder and arson targeting a client in Hiroshima.

Click to expand...

According to the bank and additional sources, two keys are required to open and close a safe. The customer possesses the primary key, but the bank keeps a reserve sealed with the customer's registered seal. The former employee, using a supervisor's authority, broke the seals of spare keys and opened the safe deposit boxes without permission. The bank said that despite employees conducting voluntary inspections of spare keys at the two branches and a group company conducting periodic inspections, they could not detect any abnormalities. To prevent a recurrence, the bank said it will review the management of spare keys. Previously, individual branches were in charge of them, but the responsibility will transfer to central management at MUFG's head office.

Click to expand...

Mizuho Bank had not made the incident public "in consideration of its relationship with customers," an official said. The employee involved in the theft has already been dismissed but the bank did not disclose whether any criminal action was taken. The bank reported the incident to the Financial Services Agency and took measures for the victims. It also reviewed the storage practice of keys to prevent a recurrence of such incidents, it said. "We will consider further enhancing our management system," the official said. The theft came to light after the bank in principle suspended accepting applications for use of safe-deposit boxes in January.

Click to expand...