Joyo Bank, a regional bank based in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, announced Thursday that it dismissed a 46-year-old empolyee the previous day for embezzling some ¥140 million. The man is now missing.
According to the bank, the man, whose name has been withheld, spent the money in foreign exchange trading, which was prohibited at the bank. The man, who was working at the bank's Shimotsuma branch, had about ¥10 million in debts, the bank said.
The bank plans to lodge a criminal complaint against the man, while taking measures to avoid a recurrence of such incidents.
The bank's officials said the incident came to light after the man ran away on Sept. 22, leaving a letter addressed to his wife at his home. The letter said he had taken his customers' money.
The man allegedly embezzled money 29 times, taking funds to which he was entrusted from 14 customers while he was in charge of loans at two branches between April 2010 and August this year. The officials said the embezzlement went unnoticed because the money was returned in a short period of time.