TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested have busted a loan sharking ring that charged interest more than 50 times the legal rate, reports TBS News (July 5).
Between September, 2015 and last December, Manabu Namekata, 36, of no known occupation, and Naoki Iguchi, 40, and three other suspects allegedly collected a total of 4.167 million yen in interest payments from a 50-year-old man living in Bunkyo Ward.
The interest rate charged by the suspects exceeded that allowed under the Investment Law by a factor of 54, according to police.
All five suspects deny the allegations, police said.
As a part of the investigation, police seized computers and telephones from the suspects that are believed to have been used to recruit customers.
The address of the office used by the suspects was concealed. Instead, collections were made via a post office box controlled by Iguchi.
Between June, 2015 and last October, the ring is believed to have charged a total of 450 persons illegal interest rates in collecting about 200 million yen, police said.
