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Fukuoka: Buyer maybe found for yakuza HQ

FUKUOKA (TR) – Over the past several, victims of crimes carried out by the Kudo-kai criminal syndicate, based in Kitakyushu City, have been awarded about 200 million yen in compensation by courts.

To raise those funds, the city is utilizing the sale of assets seized from the gang due to non-payment of taxes. Among them is the gang’s headquarters in Kokurakita Ward — and a sale may be close, officials with the city have revealed, reports Fuji News Network (July 18).

The city had been planning to put the property up for auction if a buyer could not be found by Monday. However, a lawyer for the gang said on Wednesday that “a buyer has been found,” the city said.

Preparation for the sale began earlier this year. On February 18, about 10 persons, including staff members from Kitakyushu City, real estate appraisers and members of the gang, examined the four-floor, 1,752-square-meter structure.

Since November, 2014, the Fukuoka Prefectural Public Safety Commission has prohibited gang members from entering the headquarters.

The plot has an estimated value of more than 100 million yen. However, the city would need to approve any potential buyer.

The headquarters of the Kudo-kai is for sale
The headquarters of the Kudo-kai is for sale (Twitter)

Murder, attempted murder and tax evasion

Over the past several years, police have accused Satoru Nomura, the 72-year-old boss of the Kudo-kai, over a number of crimes, including murder, attempted murder and tax evasion.

In some of those cases, Nomura is currently being targeted through the courts for large compensation payments. A payment of 84 million yen is sought over the stabbing of a dentist in 2014. In another case, a payment of 30 million yen is sought for the shooting of a former detective in 2012.

A court already awarded a payment of 78 million for the murder of a fishery cooperative president in Kitakyushu in 1998.

Earlier this year, the Fukuoka District Court permitted the seizure of 75 million yen inside Nomura’s bank accounts — including a postal account — to cover a compensation claim of 79.73 million yen by a “snack” hostess who was slashed in the face by a knife-wielding assailant in 2012.