Japanese Investigators Suspect $105m Forex Investment Scam

According to Japanese newspaper Japan Times, the local prosecutor office in Nagoya is looking for a court order to freeze the assets of two individuals accused of alleged fraud related to what appears to have been an investment scheme. According to the officials, the perpetrators are alleged to have defrauded investors to the tune of $104.9 million (¥11.7 billion).

Two individuals are the alleged perpetrators of the Japanese Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term scheme. One of them is the 48 year-old manager of a company that organizes trading seminars, Masaaki Ito. He has a track record, having been accused seven times of embezzlement. At the time, 160 clients suffered damages to the tune of $17 million (¥1.9 billion).

The new case reveals that the suspects allegedly scammed 3,000 retail investors of a total of $104.9 million (¥11.7 billion). The defrauded customers received assurance that the invested funds will be used in real trading with guaranteed monthly returns totaling 3 per cent of the invested capital. Mr Ito and his partner never engaged in any transactions with the funds that they accumulated from their investors.

Japanese authorities managed to secure $2.42 million (¥270 million) from the amount mentioned above. Nearly $53 million (¥6 billion) had been used to refund contract cancellations, and prosecutors are yet to determine what happened to the remaining $50 million (¥5.56 billion).

If the prosecutor’s office secures any part of the remaining funds, which could still be in the possession of the suspects, the investigator will issue a warrant to freeze the assets prior to the date of the next hearing scheduled for May 2016. Should the alleged fraudsters be charged, the frozen assets funds will be distributed to the 3,000 victims of the investment scheme.

Investigators have confirmed the localization of some of the remaining funds in related bank deposits both in Japan and abroad. So far the prosecutors cannot confirm how much of this money is recoverable.