Overview
- Tokyo Metropolitan Police, which announced the arrests Thursday, detained Osaka Yoji, 50, and Yamada Takeho, 65, along with four others on suspicion of violating Japan’s financial securities law.
- Authorities allege the group solicited investments without a government license from May 2018 to October 2023, pitching a British Virgin Islands vehicle with a “principal guarantee” and 12% annual yields.
- Police estimate the operation raised about ¥870 billion from roughly 7,300 people since 2014, including a single investment of about ¥330 million.
- The recruiting ran under Global Investment Lab, using about 1,000 members to court acquaintances at study sessions and seminars and to seek contributions of ¥3 million or more.
- Investigators seized nondisclosure agreements and are examining how the funds were run and moved, with reports that investor payouts stopped after June 2024.