Arrested Japanese lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto’s fingerprints found on bribe cash
- The politician was arrested in December for allegedly accepting bribes over a proposed casino resort, and rearrested on Thursday
- He is suspected of preparing US$284,000 to bribe Masahiko Konno, a former adviser to a Chinese gambling operator, to offer false testimony in the case
The fingerprints of Tsukasa Akimoto, a 48-year-old House of Representatives member once involved in crafting Japan’s policy for legalising casino resorts, were detected on bills he allegedly handed out through an accomplice to bribe Masahiko Konno, a former adviser to a Chinese gambling operator.
Akimoto, who has been indicted for receiving bribes from the operator 500.com Ltd, was served a fresh arrest warrant earlier in the week for attempting to tamper with testimony.
He has denied all the allegations against him.
Akimoto was released on bail in February but was taken into custody again on Thursday.
Working together with his supporters, Akimoto is suspected of asking Konno, who has been indicted on a bribery charge, to give false testimony in return for 30 million yen (US$284,000) in June and July.
Of the 30 million yen, Akimoto is believed to have prepared 10 million by himself and the fingerprints are regarded by the prosecutors as strong evidence of his involvement, according to the sources.
Akimoto left the Liberal Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shortly before his initial arrest in December.
The trial for Konno, as well as another former adviser to the Chinese company, Katsunori Nakazato, both 48, is expected to begin on Wednesday.
“If I could have met with the two defendants, I would not be found guilty,” one of the sources quoted Akimoto as telling people around him.
Akimoto was a senior vice-minister in the Cabinet Office for about a year from September 2017.
At that time his role was to oversee the ruling party’s initiative to legalise casinos at so-called integrated resorts.
