TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have busted a loan sharking ring that that charged victims interest rates that were nearly 100 times that allowed by law, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 18).
Over a period beginning last year, Yukihiko Sakamoto, 42, and one other person allegedly collected 110,000 yen by charging interest at 97 times that allowed by law to two persons, including a woman in her 50s living in Kagawa Prefecture.
During questioning, Sakamato said that he does “not really recall” the matter. The second suspect partially denies the charges, police said.
The ring operated by moving payments made by victims, who were solicited by telephone, via bank transfer to other accounts controlled by the suspects. Through April, police tracked 120 million yen in payments to their accounts.
Among the victims are persons living in Chiba and Miyazaki prefectures, police said.
