TOKYO (TR) – The suspected drug supplier of the previous CEO of precision gear producer Olympus has been re-arrested on suspicion of extorting him, police have revealed.
Earlier this 12 months, Takaaki Kaneko, 44, allegedly extorted 500,000 yen in money from former CEO Stefan Kaufmann, 56, as hush cash, studies Nippon News Network (Nov. 28).
“I’ll tell the company, the media and the police about our relationship,” Kaneko reportedly threatened.
Kaneko has declined to touch upon the most recent allegations, police mentioned.
During voluntary questioning performed earlier this 12 months, Kaufmann mentioned that he had bought unlawful medicine from Kaneko. Police later launched an investigation.
Kaneko was first taken into custody earlier this month. On a number of events between September 2022 and February of this 12 months, the suspect allegedly supplied cocaine and MDMA, or Ecstasy, to Kaufmann whereas realizing that they have been unlawful medicine.
Following Kaneko’s arrest, Kaufmann was despatched to prosecutors on suspicion of receiving unlawful medicine.
Kaneko is believed to have demanded money a number of instances from Kaufmann, who tried to finish their relationship, as hush cash. He probably extorted greater than 9 million yen from him, police mentioned.
Negative outcome
On June 18, investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Drug and Firearms Control Division performed a search of the previous CEO’s residence in Minato Ward.
At the time, Kaufmann nonetheless maintained his CEO title. During the aforementioned voluntary session, he denied utilizing unlawful medicine. The outcomes of a urine check gave a detrimental outcome for unlawful substances, police mentioned beforehand.
The matter didn’t floor inside Olympus till September, when paperwork detailing the drug transactions arrived on the firm’s headquarters.
The firm’s later board got here to unanimous determination that the previous CEO “likely engaged in behaviors that were inconsistent” with its code of conduct. On October 28, the corporate introduced that the previous CEO had resigned because of suspicions of buying unlawful medicine.