From 2018 to 2022, at least 82 robberies were recorded Welfare Bank (BanBien) for an amount of 143 million 19 thousand 404 pesos. According to a request for information made by The Sun of Mexico to the National Transparency Platformthe financial institution specified that the robberies include both thefts of money and furniture such as ATMs, chairs, desks, among other physical equipment.
All these lootings happened in the branches and not during the transfer of values, reported the institution headed by Victor Manuel Lamoyi Bocanegra.
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“No robberies have occurred within the period from December 2018 to May 11, 2022, under the hypothesis proposed, during the transfer,” he highlighted.
During the reference period, 2019 was the year with the highest number of crimes reported in the BanBien with 32 robberies, the majority happened in the branches of Oaxaca, Michoacan, Chiapas and Mexico state. The assaults this year, which was also the first of the president’s administration Andrés Manuel López Obradorwere for 31 million 640 thousand pesos.
This period was followed by 2021, with at least 18 thefts that together represented losses of 38 million 180 thousand pesos, being the City and State of Mexico the main entities with robberies in the branches of the main financial institution in charge of dispersing resources of social programs.
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The Welfare Bank He specified that of the 82 robberies there are 20 that are pending quantification, especially those where the furniture was removed from the branches. The financial institution added that the theft of physical equipment was more frequent in the entities of Veracruz, Tlaxcala, Morelos and Sinaloa.
As stated by the president Andrés Manuel López Obradorthe objective is that the Welfare Bank be one of the main institutions that help the financial inclusion of the country. To do this, the branches are located in rural areas or where commercial banks do not have service points.
Until November 2023, the Welfare Bank It had 2,518 operational branches in the 32 entities of the country, and the goal is to reach 2,750 branches with the support of military engineers from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena).
Although the objective is to promote financial inclusion in more remote communities, the presence of the financial institution It is less noticeable in states with the highest rates of violence in the country.
In the middle of last year, this medium announced that the bank has fewer branches in entities such as Colima, Baja California, Aguascalientes, Quintana Roo and Mexico Citywhich have a high index of insecurity, according to estimates by the National Citizen Observatory (ONC) and the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP).
There are only 28 complaints
In a transparency request apart, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) responded to this medium that between 2020 and 2023 There is only a record of 28 complaints for robberies in branches of the Welfare Bank.
From this universe, Morelos It is the state with the highest number of cases initiated, with only seven cases; followed by Gentleman and Michoacaneach with four folders opened in the last three years.
Within the response that was sent via Transparencythe agency indicated that starting in 2022 it decided to reserve more data on the branch robbery and cyber attacks for five years.
At the end of the third quarter of this year, the claims towards the Bank of Wellbeing They had their highest amount since records were recorded in 2013.
According to National Banking Commission and Securities (CNBV)Between January and September, complaints totaling around 134.58 million pesos were accumulated.
The regulator’s official statistics indicate that most of the discontent occurred because ATMs did not deliver the requested amount to users, with around 117.17 million pesos.
This amount represented an increase of 925 percent compared to the same period in 2022, when only 11.43 million pesos were claimed for this concept.
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However, of the resources claimed, only 75.40 million pesos were returned to users. The rest remains pending resolution.