A former assistant branch manager of Mitsubishi UFJ Bank was arrested for stealing gold bars from a safe deposit box. The woman reportedly started stealing because she was struggling to repay her debts, but it was discovered that she had resumed investing and horse racing even after filing for civil rehabilitation. ■Former employee arrested for stealing gold bars from a safe deposit box, general employee → general employee "Was she trusted by those around her?" Newscaster Takayanagi Mitsuki: The suspect arrested for stealing gold bars from a safe deposit box is former Mitsubishi UFJ Bank employee Yukari Imamura (46). Imamura's career history is as follows: ▼1999 Joined the bank as a general employee → then became a general employee ▼Served as sales manager, assistant branch manager, etc. Regarding this career history, former megabank branch manager Sugai Toshiyuki said, "It is quite unusual for a general employee to become a general employee. It is likely that she was excellent and trusted by those around her." ■What to store in a safe deposit box? Approximately 130,000 people use safe deposit boxes annually. Items that can be deposited in safe deposit boxes include bank passbooks, contracts, precious metals and jewels, and stock certificates. Mitsubishi UFJ Bank charges an annual fee of approximately 22,000 yen (6.2cm x 27.7cm x 49.3cm), and has approximately 130,000 users annually. According to former megabank branch manager Sugai, "Bank employees do not check the contents of safe deposit boxes in the first place." Inoue Takahiro, anchor: Even for small and medium-sized businesses, it is natural that the accounting department does not concentrate authority in one person and has multiple check functions, but when I think about the lenient situation of one person managing everything at one of Japan's leading megabanks, I wonder if other banks are okay. Hagiya Maiko, lawyer: Of course, it's worrying. I was shocked, but at the same time, I also think, "I expected it." As a lawyer, I sometimes borrow things from others and borrow safe deposit boxes. Some guardians may take gold bars and expensive precious metals and put them in a safe deposit box. When a safe deposit box is made, a duplicate key is given to the bank and sealed, but there have been cases of bank employees embezzling in the past. If this is used without permission, only you know the contents, and there is no way to prove it, so I was a little worried about whether it was really safe. However, since it is a bank, you have no choice but to trust it and deposit it. If that trust is betrayed, I think the bank's management system should be severely questioned. Caster Inoue: Of course there are things like entry and exit management and security cameras... Attorney Hagiya: I think there are security cameras when entering and exiting the building. I think it depends on the bank, but I think there are security cameras in the work areas inside. However, I think most banks do not have direct security cameras that can check what is inside. ■How did he steal from the safe deposit box? Caster Takayanagi: So, let's look at how suspect Imamura stole it. In case a customer loses the key to a safe deposit box, the branch stores spare keys for customers. The spare keys for customers are stored in an envelope with a seal from the customer and the manager. Imamura was responsible for managing the safe deposit box. The method was: ▼After using the spare key, he put it back in the envelope and glued it again ▼Temporarily supplemented it with cash from other customers' safes According to Sugai, a former megabank branch manager, "I think he was able to do it because he knew that the top management did not have a system for checking the seals in detail," and "Since he was the key manager, it is highly likely that he checked the contents of all the safes and then planned the crime." Caster Inoue: That's a big bank, and it was done by just one person. Attorney Hagiya: It's impossible. If you open the envelope and put it back, it should be obvious that it was opened. The fact that he did this for four and a half years without checking and without being noticed at two branches shows that the management system is too lax. Chiaki Horan: It is not impossible that the person who rents the safe deposit box will lose the key, so the question is how the bank will manage the safe so that it can be opened when that happens. Hagiya: If they don't create a reliable management system, it will be difficult to deposit money. Takayanagi: In addition, in order to delay discovery, they took pictures of the inside of the safe with their smartphones to see how much was in each safe. According to Sugai, a former megabank branch manager, "When customers visited the bank, they probably took pictures to replenish the contents." They also avoided discovery by turning off the safe deposit box system and pretending it was broken. Sugai said, "They were also managing the system, so they probably could have acted well. It's an unthinkable crime that takes advantage of the position of a bank that should be trusted." Regarding the focus for the future, lawyer Hagiya said, "Only the users and the suspect know what was in the safe deposit box. I think it will be very difficult to identify the victims." ■Theft from a safe deposit box... What are the self-defense measures? Caster Inoue: It will take time. Attorney Hagiya: However, what was taken with his camera and where was it... (https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/list/articl... ▼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