Former MUFG Bank employee bypassed security systems for bold daytime thefts – Kyodo News
A person who previously worked for MUFG Bank and was taken into custody for stealing gold bullion from client safe deposit boxes is suspected to have outsmarted a security system and conducted the robberies during open bank hours as well as after closing, an unnamed source disclosed on Thursday. The accused, Yukari Imamura, aged 46, reportedly confessed to disabling the system’s power source before entering the safe deposit box room as an attempt to cover her tracks.
Imamura was apprehended this week for the alleged theft of approximately 20 kilograms of gold bullion valued at around 260 million yen ($1.6 million) stored by two male clients at the bank’s branch in Nerima, Tokyo, about a year ago. MUFG, the primary banking entity of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., confirmed Imamura’s misdeeds and revealed that she had pilfered assets, including cash and gold bullion, amounting to about 1.4 billion yen from safe deposit boxes belonging to approximately 70 clients at two different branches.
According to reports, Imamura has owned up to the thefts and supposedly faced significant financial hardships due to losses incurred from trading foreign exchange margins and betting on horse races. As a result of Imamura’s actions, MUFG has chosen to dock 30 percent of CEO Junichi Hanzawa’s pay for three months, with Chairman Naoki Hori and three other top executives also subject to salary reductions as a punitive measure.
Further investigations by law enforcement estimate the total value of the stolen goods to surpass 1.7 billion yen. At the moment, the bank has disbursed a sum totaling approximately 700 million yen to 40 affected clients and is contemplating a lawsuit against Imamura to recoup the losses. MUFG has additionally vowed to enhance security by installing surveillance cameras in areas housing safe deposit boxes and implementing stricter screening protocols for promotions to management roles.
Imamura, who previously served as an acting branch manager, managed the safe deposit boxes and is believed to have employed a method involving accessing spare keys kept in sealed envelopes at the Nerima branch, which she then resealed using adhesive to avoid detection. While a significant portion of her illicit activities were conducted after the bank’s public hours, there were instances wherein she allegedly stole during business hours, as per the investigative source. Imamura is also alleged to have taken photographs of the safe deposit boxes before and after their manipulation to maintain their original appearance, with an estimated 800 images discovered on her phone.
