TOKYO (TR) – A court docket right here this week upheld a decrease court docket ruling that sentenced a 47-year-old former MUFG Bank worker to 9 years in jail for stealing gold bars and money from protected deposit packing containers at two branches, stories TBS News (Mar. 24).
At the Tokyo High Court on March 24, the court docket rejected Yukari Yamazaki’s argument that the sentence was too harsh, stating that “there was no unreasonable error in the first instance judgment, which took into account the circumstances of the crime, such as the enormous amount of damage and the fact that the victim was not at fault in any way.”
According to the indictment, Yamazaki was alleged to have stolen a complete of 29 gold bars (price roughly 333 million yen), roughly 61 million yen in money and 50 journey vouchers (complete worth of 250,000 yen) from six prospects’ protected deposit packing containers between March 2023 and October 2024 on the financial institution’s Nerima and Tamagawa branches.
“I am truly sorry”
During the primary trial on the Tokyo District Court final 12 months, Yamazaki apologized. She mentioned, “I am truly sorry for causing distrust in the financial industry.”
She additionally admitted to having a playing dependancy.”I had overlooked my true self,” she mentioned. “I want to cure my gambling addiction and never repeat this crime again.”
In October 2025, the court docket mentioned that Yamazaki’s motive was to cowl losses incurred from overseas change margin buying and selling. It identified that she used a spare key, which solely a restricted variety of workers have been allowed to make use of, to open the protected deposit field, and that she “abused his responsible position, such as branch manager’s deputy, which was given to him because he was trusted by the bank.”
She was sentenced her to 9 years in jail. The prosecution had sought a twelve 12 months time period. Yamazaki’s aspect then appealed to the Tokyo High Court, claiming the sentence was unjust.
At a listening to in the course of the attraction in February, Yamazaki said, “I feel every day how serious the crime I committed is. After my release, I will find a job as soon as possible and repay as much as I can.”
The incident got here to gentle in October 2024 when a buyer utilizing a protected deposit field contacted the financial institution reporting that their deposited money was lacking. Yamazaki was dismissed from her job the next November.