OSKAKA (TR) – A high-stakes trial involving former executives of Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) who allegedly pocketed huge quantities of money, gold, and items concluded on Thursday.
During the proceedings, the protection claimed the defendants solely accepted the bribes to make sure the survival of the corporate’s nuclear crops, reviews Mainichi Broadcasting System (Sep. 10).
For a long time courting again to the Eighties, KEPCO executives have been showered with illicit items, together with gold cups, wads of US dollar payments, and conventional Japanese gold cash often called koban.
Takahama Nuclear Power Plant
The bribes, totaling an estimated 370 million yen in worth, have been handed over by the late Eiji Moriyama, the previous deputy mayor of the city of Takahama in Fukui Prefecture, which hosts the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant.
In alternate, the executives allegedly offered preferential therapy, funneling profitable nuclear-related development contracts to firms tied to Moriyama.
The deeply rooted collusion was lastly uncovered in 2019 when the Kanazawa Regional Taxation Bureau launched an investigation into an area development agency. The ensuing scandal compelled KEPCO’s prime brass to resign in shame, main the corporate and its shareholders to file a lawsuit searching for damages for the extreme blow to the utility’s credibility.
Offer they couldn’t refuse
During the trial, the disgraced former administration introduced a doubtful protection, arguing they have been merely “holding onto” the property as a result of they have been unable to refuse Moriyama.
One former Takahama plant supervisor recalled being handed the loot straight over 20 years in the past. “I received a suit once… and also koban,” he advised reporters. “Two pieces. They were shaped like koban.”
Former KEPCO President Shigeki Iwane claimed the executives have been afraid of angering the influential city official. In 2019, Iwane acknowledged, “We were frightened by the ‘shadow’ of Moriyama that had persisted from the past.”
“Life or death”
During witness questioning in May, Iwane justified protecting the bribes a secret by citing the corporate’s monetary disaster following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. “KEPCO was in a life-or-death situation, and the only way to resolve it was the early restart of the nuclear plants,” Iwane mentioned, claiming they needed to keep away from souring their relationship with Moriyama in any respect prices.
It was additionally revealed that the previous administration by no means reported the money and items to the board of administrators. Former Chairman Makoto Yagi testified in May that the board of auditors had determined the matter “did not fall under the obligation to report.”
Shareholders scoffed on the protection, declaring that among the gold and items have been cashed in and solely returned en masse after the tax probe started. They argue this proves the executives outright accepted the bribes quite than safely storing them, and that failing to report the matter to the board was a deliberate cover-up.
With all hearings now concluded, a verdict is scheduled to be handed down on March 3 of subsequent 12 months.