MIE (TR) – Investigators from four administrative districts, including Mie Prefecture, on Wednesday announced the arrest of a Nigerian national for carrying out a money-laundering scheme, reports TBS News (Nov. 11).
According to police, Moses Salomon, 44, transferred 31.5 million yen in fraudulently obtained funds from Canada to a bank in Tsu City in July of last year. He then withdrew about 26 million yen of that amount.
At the time of the transfer, the funds were said to be the result of the sale of automobile engines. However, investigators claim that the funds came through fraudulent means.
Salomon, who has been charged with concealing illegally obtained funds, denies the allegations, telling police that the money was procured via legitimate business transactions.
Investigators suspect that the incident is one case in a money-laundering scheme carried out by the suspect between 2012 and 2014. In the scheme, a total of 470 million yen was transferred from Canada and the United States to multiple accounts in Japan, according to the Nikkei Shimbun (Nov. 12).