FUKUSHIMA (TR) – Earlier this yr, it emerged that Iwaki Shinkin Bank had for many years brokered fraudulent loans totaling round 27.9 billion yen.
At a press convention final month, the scandal continued to unfold with revelations that the financial institution supplied roughly 1 billion yen of its illegally obtained funds to so-called “anti-social forces,” reviews TV Asahi (Nov. 1).
On October 31, a press convention was held by a particular investigation committee consisting of Iwaki Shinkin Bank’s present prime executives and exterior attorneys.
“We deeply apologize for the considerable inconvenience and concern caused,” stated Shigeru Kanari, the chairman of Iwaki Shinkin Bank.
In May, the third-party committee revealed that fraudulent loans totaling 24.7 billion yen had occurred over a 20-year interval.
To dealer the fraudulent loans, the financial institution misused seals bearing the identical surnames as its clients to create unauthorized accounts. These accounts had been used for fictitious loans to cowl consumer deficits.
“This scandal is a clear violation of the law, and the executives should be dismissed,” stated third-party committee legal professional Yasuhiro Kaneda.
In the most recent developments, the third-party committee stated that funds from the fraudulent loans had been paid to organized crime to help in overlaying the misappropriations.
“Our conclusion is that a significant portion of the funds were used to pay unjust claims from so-called anti-social forces, or those who should be considered anti-social,” stated particular investigation committee legal professional Kentaro Sadahiro.
The expression “anti-social forces” is a euphemism for yakuza teams, or felony syndicates.
“Exploiting their weaknesses”
In the Nineteen Nineties, monetary establishments discovered themselves in a state of affairs the place they might not sever their ties with organized crime, together with company racketeers who disrupted shareholder conferences in pursuit of cash and items.
“Some of our executives at the time had relationships with these organized crime groups, sharing meals and drinks with them, providing them with loans, and ultimately exploiting their weaknesses to make various demands,” stated Sadahiro.
In the case of Iwaki Shinkumi Bank the felony aspect glided by the pseudonym “Sigma.”
“Sigma repeatedly made unreasonable demands on the union, and there are audio recordings of his statements implying ties to organized crime,” stated Sadahiro.
Sigma additionally assured, “I’ll settle the matter. You pay me.”
“Hush money”
In 1994, a political group repeatedly held road demonstrations on the dwelling of the financial institution’s chairman. Sigma volunteered to behave as a mediator to cease the demonstrations. After the financial institution paid Sigma roughly 350 million yen, the group continued to demand funds as “hush money.”
As beforehand reported, former chairman Jiro Ejiri performed a number one position within the coverup of the fraudulent loans. He additionally acknowledged paying Sigma.
“My impression is that the amount of money I paid during my term as chairman was around 1 billion yen,” he stated.
Ejiri defined that the funds had been remodeled a interval of roughly 13 years. The particular investigation committee famous that “this explanation is not unreasonable.” Since no different makes use of for the funds had been recognized, it was decided that all the 850 million to 1 billion yen beforehand thought-about unaccounted for went to organized crime.
According to the investigation report, Ejiri and different executives on the time dined and drank with Sigma on quite a few events. They additionally traveled abroad a number of occasions.
“Extremely regrettable”
The outcomes of the aforementioned third-party committee’s investigation introduced in May included testimony that an worker had smashed a pc with a hammer to cover proof. However, this was apparently a lie.
“He contacted us himself and said, ‘No, actually, that’s not true,’” Sadahiro stated. “I consulted with [former managing director] Tsuboi in the bank’s conference room. He said, ‘Okay, I’ll keep it.’ So I had entrusted it to Tsuboi.”
Not solely did they freely deceive the third-party committee, however the executives additionally hid the truth that they really had the pc.
“Tsuboi explained that he put it in a paper bag and threw it away with the trash on collection day around early December of last year,” Sadahiro stated.
Also on October 31, the Financial Services Agency issued its second enterprise enchancment order this yr to Iwaki Shinkumi Bank, which included a partial suspension of operations. “This is an unacceptable situation for a financial institution. It is extremely regrettable,” the company stated.