Japanese megabank MUFG Bank issued an apology on January 14 in response to the arrest of a former employee who stole over 260 million yen ($1.6 million USD) of assets from customers.

In addition to the apology, MUFG Bank revealed how the suspect was able to hide the theft of customers' assets from safety deposit boxes so that it would not be discovered.

The suspect, Imamura Yukari, was arrested on January 14 for stealing 20kg of gold bullion from a safety deposit box at the Nerima branch in September 2024.

Police are continuing their investigation, but it appears that over a 4.5-year period, Imamura stole from the safety deposit boxes of about 60 bank customers.

Imamura is suspected of using other customers' assets to compensate for those stolen and would shut down the safety deposit box system when her victims would visit the bank, saying that the system was malfunctioning, thereby avoiding detection.

Imamura is believed to have used the money and various assets to pay for FX investments and other gambling debts. 

Regarding the arrest, MUFG said “Once again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern we have caused to our customers and all other concerned parties. As always, we will cooperate fully with the police investigation.”