OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a key figure in a large money-laundering scheme who had fled overseas.
On Monday night, police apprehended Takamasa Ikeda, 38, upon his arrival on a flight from Singapore at Kansai International Airport. He is believed to be the number-three member in the money-laundering ring Liberton Group, reports NHK (Sep. 2).
Between November 2021 and June 2023, Ikeda and others in the group are suspected of establishing a company with no actual business operations and transferring approximately 5.59 million yen from its corporate account, including 2.1 million yen in fraudulent funds, to another account.
Fled to the Philippines
Ikeda is in custody on suspicion of violating the Organized Crime Punishment Act for concealment of criminal proceeds. Police had already arrested the group’s top member, Sotaro Ishikawa, 35, and its number-two member, Kosuke Yamada, on the same charges.
Last month, police in the Philippines apprehended 37-year-old Hiroyuki Kawasaki, who fled Japan earlier this year.
According to police, at least 70 billion yen was deposited into over 4,000 corporate accounts belonging to 500 paper companies under Liberton’s Group’s management.
Police are still seeking the whereabouts of another key member, Shinya Ito, 37, who is also believed to have fled to the Philippines.
