TOKYO (TR) — Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 23-year-old man from Kanagawa Prefecture for allegedly swindling an antique dealer out of a 1-kilogram gold bullion worth nearly 18 million yen by posing as a lucrative broker last year, reports TBS News (May 14).
In late August of last year, Hiroshi Kanai approached the victim — an antique dealer in his 20s whom he had met through a mutual acquaintance — and spun a tale about a highly profitable foreign business deal.
“I can get this gold bought for 35,000 yen per gram by taking advantage of a Chinese M&A deal,” Kanai falsely claimed. To further gain the victim’s trust, he reassured the dealer, “Don’t worry, I won’t take a massive cut for the mediation fee.”
Convinced by the pitch, the dealer handed over the 1-kilogram gold bar, which carried a market value of roughly 17.8 million yen at the time.
Upon police questioning on suspicion of fraud, Kanai, who lives in Miyamae Ward in Kawasaki City, fully admitted to the allegations. Investigators are now tracing the money to determine exactly how the suspect spent his ill-gotten gains.
However, there was no Chinese M&A deal. As soon as Kanai got his hands on the bullion, he immediately fenced it at a purchase shop in Tokyo, walking away with approximately 26 million yen in cash.
