https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16693439?msockid=169a1514b0436dad1cd003f1b1256c30

Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Tokyo police arrested five individuals, including a suspected Chinese ringleader, on July 1 over allegations they laundered about 28 million yen ($172,000) stolen from a U.S. resident through a Japanese bank.

The Metropolitan Police Department suspects Lin Jun, 44, a Chinese national living in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward, headed the money-laundering operation that may have concealed at least 200 million yen in criminal proceeds through Japanese bank accounts, investigative sources said.

The group is believed to have gained this money through a social-media-based investment scam.

In early September 2023, according to the sources, the five suspects conspired to conceal about 28 million yen obtained from a U.S. resident through an internet scam.

The money was transferred from the United States into a Japanese bank account held in the name of a company represented by one of the suspects, a 54-year-old man.

The suspects concealed the illicit origin of the funds by disguising the transfer as payment for a legitimate business transaction, the sources said.

Because the transfer involved a large amount of money from overseas, the Japanese bank sought confirmation of the purpose of the transfer.

The suspects submitted a falsified statement claiming the payment was made for exported precision equipment, the sources said.

The money was subsequently transferred to another bank, and almost the entire amount was withdrawn.

The MPD has arrested two additional individuals on suspicion of fraud, alleging they deceived the bank into letting them withdraw the funds.

Police are examining where the withdrawn cash ultimately went.

130,000 SUSPICIOUS TRANSFERS

If any suspicious money transfers from overseas are detected, Japanese banks may request supporting documentation and conduct further reviews.

Financial institutions in Japan are required to report large “suspicious transactions” and other dealings that may be linked to criminal proceeds to the Financial Services Agency.

According to the National Police Agency, about 130,000 suspicious transactions involving overseas remittances were reported during the three years through 2024.

By country or region, transactions involving China accounted for the largest number, at around 41,000 cases, followed by Hong Kong and the United States, with about 11,000 cases each.