MITO — An employee at a credit cooperative in east Japan embezzled some 12.47 million yen (about $96,000) from 14 business partners and individual customers before his death in November last year, the organization announced on Jan. 27.
The Ibaraki-ken Credit Cooperative said the employee, who was in his 30s, was in charge of loan operations at the Okunoya branch in the Ibaraki Prefecture town of Ibaraki between April and October 2022. It said he embezzled amounts ranging from tens of thousands of yen to several million yen that individual customers and business establishments in the town brought in for fixed-term deposits. It is believed that the money was used for entertainment expenses and repayment of debts. The cooperative has already reimbursed the full amount to victims.
The matter came to light after the employee stopped showing up for work and could not be reached at the end of October. Then when another employee asked a customer for a deposit, the customer said, “I already handed over cash.” The employee in question died in November. The credit union has consulted the police and apparently plans to file a damage report.
(Japanese original by Toru Morinaga, Mito Bureau)
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