The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 46-year-old former Mitsubishi UFJ Bank employee in connection with the theft of several billion yen worth of valuables from a safe deposit box at the bank. Reporter: "It's 8 p.m. Suspect Imamura, a former Mitsubishi UFJ Bank employee, has come out." The woman bows as she leaves the police station. On the night of the 14th, former Mitsubishi UFJ Bank employee Yukari Imamura (46) was arrested on suspicion of theft. Mitsubishi UFJ Bank President Junichi Hanzawa (last month) "We take this very seriously as it shakes the foundations of the banking business, which is trust and faith, and we offer our heartfelt apologies to our customers and all concerned parties." The president himself apologized last month, calling the situation "shaking the very foundations" of the banking business. Imamura is suspected of stealing 19.5 kg of gold bars (worth approximately 260 million yen) from a safe deposit box at the Nerima branch in Tokyo where he was working at the time, around September last year. It is believed that he took the stolen gold bars to seven pawn shops in Tokyo and Chiba and exchanged them for cash. During questioning by the Metropolitan Police Department, Imamura said... "I used it for FX investment" Imamura began stealing the contents of the safe deposit box after losing a large amount of money from his long-standing FX investment and horse racing. He is said to have lost approximately 1 billion yen in FX investment over at least five years. According to Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, the thefts began in April 2020 when Imamura was employed at the Ekoda branch. He was then transferred to the Tamagawa branch in October last year, and it is believed that the thefts continued for approximately four and a half years until the incident was discovered. Mitsubishi UFJ Bank President Junichi Hanzawa (last month) said, "Approximately 60 customers were likely victims, and the total damage is expected to be several billion yen." "We will keep your irreplaceable assets safe" (Mitsubishi UFJ Bank website) Mitsubishi UFJ Bank touts the safety of its safe deposit boxes on its website. How did this unprecedented "theft by a bank employee" happen? Two types of keys are needed to open a safe deposit box, and one is kept by the bank and the other by the customer. However, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank keeps spare keys for customers at its branches in case a customer loses their key. The spare keys are stored in an envelope with a split seal, but it is believed that Imamura, who was in charge of managing the spare keys, took them and committed the theft. Mitsubishi UFJ Bank President Junichi Hanzawa (last month) said, "There had been no scandals in the area of ​​safe deposit boxes, so there was little awareness of the risk." Imamura temporarily filled the safes with cash from other customers' safes to delay the discovery of the damage. It is believed that he took pictures of the inside of the safes with his smartphone to record how much money was in each safe. Following his arrest, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank released a statement. "We would like to once again sincerely apologize to our customers and other related parties for the inconvenience and concern caused. As always, our bank will fully cooperate with the police investigation." During questioning, Imamura admitted to the charges, saying, "There is no doubt that I stole the items around September." The Metropolitan Police Department believes that Imamura stole more than 1 billion yen in cash and valuables such as gold bars, with a market value of more than 700 million yen, from approximately 60 customers' safe deposit boxes, and is investigating whether he may have committed other crimes. ▼TBS NEWS DIG Official Website https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/ ▼Please subscribe to our channel! / @tbsnewsdig ▼Information provided by "TBS Insiders" https://www.tbs.co.jp/news_sp/tbs-ins... ▼Video provided by "TBS Scoop Post" https://www.tbs.co.jp/news_sp/toukou.... #News #news #TBS #newsdig