TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 44-year-old photographer for allegedly providing illegal drugs to the former CEO of precision equipment manufacturer Olympus Corp.
On multiple occasions between September 2022 and February of this year, Takaaki Kaneko allegedly provided cocaine and MDMA, or Ecstasy, to former Olympus CEO Stefan Kaufmann, 56, while knowing that they were illegal drugs.
According to investigators, Kaneko is believed to have given Kaufmann 0.1 to 0.2 grams of cocaine and one tablet of MDMA each time, reports TBS News (Nov. 8).
During voluntary questioning, Kaufmann said that he had purchased illegal drugs from Kaneko. After an investigation was launched, they arrested Kaneko.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of violating the Special Narcotics Act, Kaneko, who lives in Katsushika Ward, has remained silent, police said.
On June 18, investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Drug and Firearms Control Division conducted a search of the former CEO’s home in Minato Ward.
At the time, Kaufmann still maintained his CEO title. During the aforementioned voluntary session, he denied using illegal drugs. The results of a urine test gave a negative result for illegal substances, police said.
The matter did not surface within Olympus until September, when documents detailing the drug transactions arrived at the company’s headquarters.
The company’s later board came to unanimous decision that the former CEO “likely engaged in behaviors that were inconsistent” with its code of conduct. On October 28, the company announced that the former CEO had resigned due to suspicions of purchasing illegal drugs.
Police are continuing the investigation, including whether to file charges against Kaufmann.
