Ex-Banker Jailed for Stealing $2.6M to Cover Gambling Debt

A Tokyo court has sentenced a former bank manager to nine years in prison after she was found guilty of stealing gold bars and cash worth nearly $2.6 million (SGD 3.36 million) from one of Japan’s largest financial institutions.

An Attempt to Cover Gambling Debt

Y.Y., 47, a former deputy branch manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, was convicted of repeatedly stealing from the bank’s safe deposit boxes between 2023 and 2024. 

According to court documents, Y. used her inside knowledge to bypass security systems and remove gold bars valued at more than JPY 330 million (USD 2.2 million), along with over JPY 60 million (USD 390,000) in cash.

Judge Hironobu Ono of the Tokyo District Court called the thefts “heinous,” saying the circumstances were “rarely seen before.” In his ruling, he noted that while Y. had no prior criminal record and had promised to seek treatment for her gambling addiction, her position of trust and the scale of the theft made imprisonment unavoidable.

M.O. Revealed 

According to reports from Asahi Shimbun, Y. admitted that she began stealing after accumulating large debts through horse racing and foreign currency trading. She told investigators she turned to theft in a desperate attempt to cover her gambling losses.

Authorities say Y. would enter a vault after 3 p.m., first making sure no entry logs were on record. Then, she would use master keys and spare keys to open random boxes and pilfer the valuables inside.

She would then take photos of the stolen items and use spreadsheets to track them down. In an attempt to avoid being detected, she would also move the stolen goods between boxes and use bank cash to fill the gaps, while keeping a close eye on her colleagues’ schedules and customer visits.

During her August testimony, Y. broke down in tears, admitting she caused “distrust to the entire financial industry and tarnished the name of MUFG Bank”, where she worked for two and a half decades. 

Widespread Attention 

Authorities believe the full scope of her crimes may be even larger. Including uncharged cases, investigators estimate total damages at around JPY 1.4 billion (USD 9.1 million), with as many as 70 victims affected. Mitsubishi UFJ Bank has so far recovered only a portion of the stolen gold and cash.

The case drew a lot of attention in Japan, not only because of the large sums involved in the theft, but also because it further highlighted growing concerns about internal theft in the banking industry, with many similar incidents reported at other institutions in recent years.

The case prompted the Japanese Bankers Association to update safe deposit box regulations in June to no longer allow cash to be stored in the boxes in a move to close security loopholes and restore public confidence in the system.