The thief's box: who is emptying Russians' safe deposit boxes
Several incidents of theft from safe deposit boxes in recent months have cast a shadow over the safety of this method of storing valuables. Meanwhile, experts believe that clients should not worry - they just need to observe elementary precautions. Who steals from safe deposit boxes in banks and how insured the risks of custodians - in the material "Izvestia".
Missing when moving
A scandalous case with the possible theft of jewelry from a safe deposit box of one of the bank branches in the center of the capital was recorded by the police. A man who was missing a gold ring with alexandrite and two gold chains filed a report. As it turned out, the disappearance may be related to the "move" of the vault from one branch of the bank to another (the unit where the valuables were stored was closed). The owner of the box himself could not be present in the city at the time of opening the box and making an inventory of valuables necessary for moving the tray, as he was abroad. As a result, the safe deposit box was formed without his participation in the presence of the bank's commission. Already on his return home the man did not see jewelry in the list, about which he reported to the police.
Going for broke
Earlier, a large-scale theft was committed in one of the branches of another bank in Moscow. Shortly before the crime, a Muscovite woman put 271 million rubles in a rented safe deposit box. The money had been counted before being placed in the vault in compliance with all the necessary procedures.
The disappearance of almost 180 million rubles was discovered on December 20 by the tenant of the safe deposit box. She appealed to the police, and the bank began an internal review and quickly established that the theft involved the head of the department of lending to small and medium-sized businesses 36-year-old Alexei G. The man was detained at Sheremetyevo airport by police officers, he was going to fly to Thailand. Before leaving, he managed to transfer all the funds into cryptocurrency (the cell phone with a crypto wallet seized). The bank employee was charged with grand theft.
Who is responsible for what
- The bank assumes full responsibility for the safety and inviolability of the safe deposit box, and also guarantees the confidentiality of information about the client," Anna Golub, a partner at Criminal Defense Firm, told Izvestia. - The bank may open the safe deposit box without the client's knowledge only in an exceptional case. For example, in case of fire or earthquake. In addition, the contents of the safe deposit box can be withdrawn by court order. The contract may also stipulate that the safe deposit box will be opened to release the safe deposit box if the client stops paying the rent. The safe deposit box may also be opened for a notary for the sake of inventorying the property and including it in the inheritance mass.
According to the expert, banks usually state that renting a safe deposit box is one of the most reliable ways to store valuables and other property, as they are located in an armored room and access is provided by an identity document.
- But there are several types of agreements. In one case, the bank knows what lies there, in the other - not, - explains Golub. - Therefore, in the second case, it will be difficult to prove that there was a million dollars lying there.
The lawyer urges to always read the terms of the contract and weigh the risks.
- Either you get a guarantee of compensation for damage, or confidentiality, but in case of loss to compensate for the damage will be very difficult.
Minuses of secret storage
If the client chooses confidentiality, then in the case of adverse consequences is very difficult to prove what was stored in the safe, says lawyer Zhanna Ulybina.
- Use this method of storing money also those who can not explain the origin of funds. I would like to remind you that the Bank of Russia obliged banks to check the origin of large sums deposited by their clients in accordance with the requirements of Federal Law No. 115-FZ dated 07.08.2001 "On Combating Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds of Crime and Financing of Terrorism", which poses a problem for those who received money illegally.
In the lawyer's practice there was a curious case related to the secrecy of storing property in a safe deposit box.
- The client, dissatisfied with the service in the bank, rented a safe deposit box for a year and placed fresh fish in it. It is clear that according to the terms of the contract the bank had no right to open the safe deposit box before the expiration of the lease period, and the odor in the vault was still the same. But this is an isolated case, as a rule, it is the clients who suffer from such secrecy, and in most cases they are deprived of their property without the possibility of compensation for losses.
Under the contract of storage of valuables with the provision of an individual bank safe deposit box, the bank provides the client with the ability to place valuables in the safe and withdraw them from the safe outside anyone's control, including the bank, says Ulybina.
- The bank is obliged to control access to the premises where the safe deposit box provided to the client is located. The bank is released from liability for non-safety of the contents of the safe if it proves that under the conditions of storage access to the safe without the knowledge of the client was impossible, or became possible due to force majeure.
Instrument of transaction
Bank safe deposit boxes are used not only for storing documents, valuables and money, but are also a tool to guarantee the fulfillment of obligations, Alexey Gavrishev, lawyer, managing partner of AVG Legal, told Izvestia.
- So, for example, the seller and the buyer can conclude a deal in the bank office, and the keys to the cell with money or something else will be given by the bank to the seller after the seller fulfills the obligation to transfer the property. That is, the bank helps guarantee payment and counter-performance if it is cash similar to a letter of credit. And given that bank employees have access to the safe deposit boxes, it is generally not difficult to rob. But it should be realized that the vault is under video surveillance and it is almost impossible to avoid responsibility. It is hard to imagine that the robbers have time to leave the country. Apparently, it is only counting on the fact that the owners of such cells do not check their cells for a long time and discover the theft too late.
Judicial practice
- To date, there are many cases when clients lost their savings and valuables, and banks were not responsible for it, - said lawyer Zhanna Ulybina. - However, now the practice is being formed, according to which banks, being professional participants of the financial services market, are obliged to have the necessary means and take exhaustive measures to ensure safe storage of their valuables by clients in bank safes.
According to Izvestiya's interlocutor, it is not uncommon for unscrupulous bank employees or third parties to make duplicates of safe deposit box keys at their suggestion. Another method of theft is when a client who previously rented a safe deposit box in a bank does not return the key, and then, acting in collusion with bank employees, uses it to open other safes in the vault. Even the use of biometrics and pin codes does not always help. In such cases, the alarm system does not always go off, while the safes remain intact and have no signs of tampering, says the lawyer.
- I know of situations when clients, having lost their valuables, did not apply to the police or the court, - says Zhanna Ulybina. - For example, some did not want to explain where they got such sums or jewelry. Others realized that they would not be able to prove what exactly they had put in the safe. It is also common practice for banks that value their reputation to hide such cases from publicity and negotiate with clients on their own.
