A former top Tokyo Olympics official and three other men were arrested in Japan on Wednesday as part of an investigation into possible bribes, Japanese prosecutors said.
Haruyuki Takahashi, 78, who was part of the organizing committee for the Olympics held last year, is suspected of having received in 2017 the equivalent of more than 320,000 euros from Aoki Holdings, a Japanese chain of business costume stores, after the signing of a contract between his consulting company and this group, which in 2018 became an official partner of the Games.
These were to be organized in 2020 but had been postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr. Takahashi was arrested at the same time as the former president of Aoki Holdings, Hironori Aoki, 83, and two other officials of this firm, according to documents from the Tokyo prosecutor's office consulted by AFP.
Mr Takahashi is accused of accepting bribes “
knowing that it was thank you money for the beneficial and preferential treatment
” he was giving to Aoki Holdings.
According to prosecutors, Mr. Takahashi had a total of 51 million yen transferred to the bank account of a company he runs, via around 50 transfers between October 2017 and March 2022.
In a statement released Wednesday, Aoki Holdings apologized for the "
huge damage
" caused by the arrests and said it " takes
the matter seriously
."
"
We will continue to cooperate fully with investigations by the authorities
," the group added.
Haruyuki Takahashi, was arrested as part of an investigation into possible bribes ISSEI KATO / REUTERS
Last month, the police carried out searches at the homes of MM.
Takahashi and Aoki, as well as in the former offices of the now disbanded Tokyo-2020 Organizing Committee.
A former senior executive at Japanese advertising giant Dentsu, Mr. Takahashi was not expected to accept any money or gifts in connection with his role as a Tokyo 2020 board member since 2014. He, however, denied any conflict. interest in the transaction with Aoki Holdings.
Suspicions of corruption have also long floated over the conditions for awarding the 2020 Olympics.
In March 2019, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee Tsunekazu Takeda resigned a few months after being indicted by French justice.
Mr. Takeda is suspected of having remunerated Black Tidings, a company based in Singapore and described as an "
empty shell
" by French investigators, before and after the designation of the Japanese capital by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/72V5ILYZORGNLHVFBL5EFHNU6Q)
