Suspension of a Tokyo Olympics executive on suspicion of bribery

Suspension of a Tokyo Olympics executive on suspicion of bribery; Japanese police on Wednesday arrested a Tokyo Olympics board member on suspicion of receiving a bribe along with three other men in connection with the scandal, according to prosecutors.
Haruyuki Takahashi is facing a charge of receiving $ 380 thousand in bribes from clothing store chain Oki Holdings, a sponsor of the 2020 Olympics held in the summer of 2021 after being postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 78-year-old was arrested in conjunction with the President of “Oki Holdings,” Hironori Oki (83), and other clothing company executives, according to documents of the Tokyo Prosecutor’s Office seen by AFP.

The prosecution accuses Takahashi of accepting bribes that “were understood to mean thanks funds for the useful and differential treatment” he gave Oakey.

According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, a total of 51 million yen ($ 380 thousand at the current exchange rate) was transferred to the company’s bank account, managing it in more than 50 conversion transactions between October 2017 and March 2022.

The arrests came after Japanese police raided Takahashi’s home in Tokyo to stop the local media, along with searches of Oki’s home and the former offices of the recently dissolved Olympic organizing committee.

Takahashi, a former executive of Japanese advertising giant Dentsu, was suspected in 2017 of receiving the equivalent of more than Euro 320 thousand from Oki Holdings after signing a contract between his consulting firm and the group, which is 2018 became official partners for the Tokyo Olympics.

Takahashi was not supposed to accept any funds or gifts in connection with his role as a board member of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics since 2014. Despite these allegations, Takahashi denied any conflict of interest in the transaction with Oakie Holdings.

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