They suspect dishonest bankers
Bank safe deposit boxes—personal deposit boxes located in the vaults of rented financial institutions—have been robbed in the capital. The Ministry of Internal Affairs told Vesti that eight criminal cases were opened in 2015 in connection with the theft of cash and valuables from these safe deposit boxes. Three investigations were launched in 2014: three in the Obolonsky district, two each in Pechersky and Shevchenkivsky districts, and one in Podilsky district.
"In most cases, dollars (worth between 20 and 7 million soums), euros (between 2,5 and 500), Russian rubles (around 275), antique gold coins (around 40 pieces), and gold bars (weighing around 3 kg) were stolen from rented safe deposit boxes," Irina Levchenko, deputy head of the public relations department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Kyiv, told Vesti.
Criminal cases are being brought against bankers to recover deposits.
She also clarified that, as of March 24, 2015, three suspects had been identified in one of these cases (it comprises nine counts), two of whom were placed on the wanted list. The materials regarding the third defendant have been separated into a separate proceeding and sent to court. One case was closed under paragraph 2, part 1, article 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (absence of corpus delicti). Pre-trial investigations are ongoing in the remaining six cases.
While the investigation is ongoing, law enforcement officials are unsure how exactly something could have disappeared from the vault—the most secure location in the bank. When people sign leases for safe deposit boxes (also known as safe deposit boxes) and inquire with financiers about security, they are often told how impenetrable this location is: both the fortification of the vault itself and the security system that prevents anyone but the renter from accessing the contents. Experts have only considered a few possible scenarios that could have led to the theft.
"It's unlikely that we're talking about safe deposit boxes being broken into; it's more likely that dishonest bankers are using duplicate keys. After all, every safe deposit box is opened by a person working with a banker—two keys are involved (it can't be opened with just one), and the bank has duplicates of both keys. And these keys can be used by financial institution employees for theft; I've heard of such cases," Rostislav Kravets, senior partner at the law firm Kravets & Partners, told Vesti.
Bankers, however, blame external factors more, admitting negligence rather than malicious or selfish intent. "It's safe to assume that a criminal will come to the bank with forged documents. Then, the thoroughness of the identity check will be entirely the responsibility of the bank employee. Furthermore, the bank branch has duplicate keys, to which some employees may have access. If the same employee also has access to surveillance cameras, it's certainly possible to pull off such a scheme, but it would be discovered very quickly. And then the bank's security service will likely find the criminal faster than the police," Igor Lvov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Finance and Credit Bank, told Vesti.
Escaped from the lie detector
When someone discovers a theft from their bank safe, the advice they receive is the same: call the bank's security service and file a police report. "A forensic expert should come and examine the crime scene, checking everything—from whether the safe was broken into to fingerprints on it. Therefore, an investigation must be conducted: who made and purchased the safe keys, where they were made, and where they are stored—both originals and duplicates. Surveillance video from the bank entrance and vault will be reviewed, along with numerous other facts. However, actually proving the theft of cash or other valuables and obtaining appropriate compensation is a virtually impossible task. Since the safe's contents are confidential, proving that any money was in there is nearly impossible," Mikhail Mozhaev, managing partner of the law firm Mozhaev & Partners, told Vesti.
Other lawyers agreed. "It's impossible to prove theft from a rented safe deposit box in court. This is only possible if a safe deposit box was provided: if the bank inventoried the entire contents of the safe before storing the valuables, and then something was missing during the inspection, and this was also reflected in the acceptance certificate. Only then should the bank fully compensate the person for the damages. Otherwise, proving anything is impossible. In one case, lawyers suggested that a financial institution conduct a lie detector test on the person in charge at the bank. Both the banker and the client were questioned about the contents of the safe and the missing money. The outcome was unexpected—the financier accused of the theft went on the run, and the police are still searching for him. But the person still hasn't received anything back," Kravets told Vesti.
What to do
Therefore, those who are particularly concerned about their safe deposit boxes are advised to use a safekeeping service. Those who are only interested in renting them are advised to do more research about the financial institution beforehand. "I recommend choosing banks with a good reputation in the market. It's important to pay attention to staff turnover. Before using safe deposit boxes, inquire about the depository's certification, its security level, and its security alarm system," Alexander Samokish, Head of Corporate Sales Development at Avant-Bank, told Vesti.
At the same time, financiers insist that safe deposit box robberies are not a very common occurrence. "This type of savings is currently one of the most reliable and widely accessible. Kyiv currently has approximately 140 banks, with approximately 4,000-5,000 branches. While not every bank has safe deposit boxes, many do. Nevertheless, eight robberies is extremely rare," Igor Lvov emphasized.
Alexander Samokish agreed: "In banks that value their reputation, such a situation is practically impossible. The only exceptions might be cases such as bank robbery, employee abuse of power, or failure of the bank's security system and level of protection to comply with NBU requirements. However, in reality, such exceptions are very rare and occur only in banks with questionable reputations."
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