Tokyo police on Tuesday arrested a 59-year-old former employee of Bandai Namco Entertainment on suspicion of embezzling ¥54 million ($345,300) in company assets.
Police said Yoichi Toyosumi of western Tokyo’s Machida city allegedly sold about 500 smartphones and other company items without permission to a second-hand store in Tokyo 30 times in 2020.
According to the police, he has confessed and acknowledged the crimes: “There is no doubt about that.”
According to investigators, during his tenure, Toyosumi was solely responsible for the acquisition, distribution and management of mobile devices used in game software development.
Police believe he illegally sold approximately 4,000 mobile devices between 2015 and 2022, embezzling a total of approximately ¥400 million, including the ¥54 million for which he was arrested.
Toyosumi allegedly used the proceeds from his illegal sales to finance his personal expenses, including visits to entertainment venues such as girlie bars.
Bandai Namco Holdings, the video game publisher’s parent company, said the alleged fraud came to light in November 2021 when discrepancies were discovered in the number of registered handsets in the company’s system and the number of devices actually in use.
Following these discoveries, Toyosumi was dismissed from his position in December 2022 and criminal charges were filed against him in December 2023.
A Bandai Namco spokesperson said: “We are cooperating fully with the police investigation and are committed to strengthening our internal controls to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Translated by The Japan Times
