Two former advisors to Chinese online gaming firm 500.com have admitted to offering bribes to House of Representatives member Tsukasa Akimoto in an attempt to win favor in their pursuit of a license to develop an integrated resort in Japan.
Masahiko Konno and Katsunori Nakazato, both 48, acknowledged that charges of bribery were “undoubtedly correct” during the first court date in their trial on Wednesday.
According to the indictment, 500.com planned to enter the IR market in either Hokkaido or Okinawa. Between September 2017 and February 2018 it is alleged Konno and Nakazato handed over JPY3 million (US$28,000) in cash at the office of Akimoto, who at the time was a Cabinet Office Deputy Minister in charge of IRs. It is also alleged that bribes worth a total of JPY7.5 million (US$71,000) were provided in the form of travel expenses for a trip to the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong.
Akimoto has maintained his innocence since his original arrest in December and an initial trial date for him has not been set. Akimoto was last week arrested for the third time on charges of violating organized crime law (bribing a witness) while already on bail in the corruption case. He is alleged to have conspired with supporters to have Konno provide a false statement. It is also alleged that Nakazato was asked to provide false testimony.
RelatedPosts
