Overview
- On Wednesday, Sept. 2, Masami Kurumada and three firms filed a lawsuit at Tokyo District Court and held a news conference to publicize allegations against a former executive.
- The complaint says about ¥4.6 billion was diverted from Kurumada’s businesses between at least 2018 and 2024 and that roughly ¥1.8 billion has already been returned.
- Plaintiffs allege the former executive funneled licensing fees into accounts he controlled, set up a near‑identical dummy firm to siphon payments, and moved some proceeds into crypto.
- Kurumada says the scheme left Kurumada Production’s accounts nearly empty and unable to meet large tax bills, a shortfall first flagged by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau in early 2024.
- The suit seeks roughly ¥2.88 billion in additional damages, and the case opens civil recovery and investigatory paths that could affect licensing deals and the creator’s finances going forward.