Mitsubishi banker accused of theft

[Anchor]

At a branch of a major Japanese bank, a bank employee was caught stealing customers' valuables from safety deposit boxes.

It is reported that over the course of four and a half years, she stole 16 billion won worth of cash and gold bars, which she used for gambling and other activities.

This is Hwang Jin-woo from Tokyo.

[Report]

This is a branch of Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Japan's largest bank, located in downtown Tokyo.

A customer who had stored precious metals in a safety deposit box came to the bank last summer, only to be told that access to the box was not possible that day.

[Mitsubishi UFJ Safety Deposit Box User: "I have been renting a safety deposit box for a long time, and it was surprising because it was the first time in several decades that this happened."]

The bank claimed the reason was a system malfunction, but in reality, the bank employee had intentionally broken the access door to the safety deposit box.

She had been taking cash from the customers' safety deposit boxes without permission and used a trick to prevent access when the customer came to visit unexpectedly.

The woman, who was acting as the branch manager at the time, was caught after repeatedly stealing valuables from the safety deposit boxes.

Over four and a half years, she stole a total of 16 billion won worth of items, from gold bars to cash.

Whenever she felt she would be accused, she would steal from other customers' boxes to fill the empty ones, affecting 70 different safety deposit boxes.

The internal crime that erupted in a bank known for its high trustworthiness has caused dismay in Japanese society.

[Hitonari Nozaki/Professor, Toyo University International Studies Department: "It might be worth considering installing cameras... I think this could impact not just individual crimes but also the bank's business model."]

The woman stated that she used the stolen money for gambling and other activities.

This is Hwang Jin-woo from KBS News in Tokyo.