TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former supervisor at Citizen Watch Co. on suspicion of embezzling firm wristwatches to fund a lavish life-style, experiences the Sankei Shimbun (May 27).
Kinya Homma, a 57-year-old resident of Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture, is particularly accused of taking eight wristwatches valued at roughly 2.2 million yen from a subsidiary’s warehouse between December 2019 and February 2020. He allegedly offered the stolen gadgets to a secondhand purchaser in Shinjuku Ward.
Upon his arrest by police on Tuesday, Homma admitted to the allegations. “I wanted money, so I did it,” he informed investigators.
Manipulated the corporate’s inner administration system
At the time of the offenses, Homma served as a piece chief within the company gross sales division. Capitalizing on his place, which allowed him to take a look at stock for promotional functions, he manipulated the corporate’s inner administration system to illicitly purchase the timepieces.
However, investigators imagine the eight watches are simply the tip of the iceberg. Police suspect that between December 2019 and April 2024, Homma fenced roughly 420 watches with a complete retail worth of 96 million yen. The illicit gross sales allegedly netted him over 30 million yen in money.
Police imagine Honma used the cash for issues like golf bills and lodging along with his girlfriend.
The years-long scheme lastly started to unravel earlier this yr when Citizen introduced a strict new coverage for bodily stock checks. Knowing the lacking stock could be found, Homma vanished.
The firm fired him for disciplinary causes in October and consulted the police, who at the moment are working to uncover the total extent of his embezzlement.
Honma was later discovered working a live-in part-time job at a ryokan inn in Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Citizen Watch commented, “We deeply regret this incident and apologize to all those involved. We have already strengthened our internal control system and will strive to prevent a recurrence and restore trust.”