The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a 59-year-old former Bandai Namco Entertainment employee on Tuesday on suspicion of embezzling 54 million yen ($345,300) in company assets.
According to police, Yoichi Toyosumi of Machida City, Tokyo, is suspected of selling about 500 smartphones and other devices owned by his company to second-hand goods stores in Tokyo on 30 occasions in 2020.
According to the police, he admitted the charges without a doubt.
According to investigators, during his tenure, Toyosumi was solely responsible for the procurement, distribution, and management of mobile devices used in the development of game software.
Police believe that the suspect illegally sold approximately 4,000 mobile devices between 2015 and 2022, and may have embezzled a total of approximately 400 million yen, including the 54 million yen for which he was arrested.
Toyosumi reportedly used the proceeds from illegal sales for personal expenses, such as visits to girls' bars and other adult entertainment establishments.
Bandai Namco Holdings, the parent company of the video game publisher, said the alleged fraud was discovered in November 2021 after discrepancies were discovered between the number of mobile devices registered in the company's system and the number of devices actually in use. said.
Following these discoveries, Mr. Toyosumi was dismissed from his position in December 2022, and criminal charges were filed in December 2023.
A Bandai Namco spokesperson said, “We will fully cooperate with the police investigation and strive to strengthen internal controls to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future.''
Translated by Japan Times