THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 13, 2024 at 14:53 JST
Yusuke Yamazaki, former vice president of Nishiyama Farm, arrives at Narita Airport surrounded by investigators on March 13. (Hiroyuki Kamisawa)
A Japanese businessman who was on the international wanted list over suspected fraud involving a bankrupt tourist farm in Okayama Prefecture was arrested after being found in Indonesia, sources said.
Aichi prefectural police on March 13 arrested Yusuke Yamazaki, 43, former vice president of Nishiyama Farm, on suspicion of orchestrating the multibillion-yen fraud scheme at the company.
Yamazaki is believed to have traveled to Hong Kong around February 2020 before moving around overseas to evade Japanese investigators.
In January this year, local authorities found a suspicious vessel off the coast of western Indonesia and took Yamazaki, who was on board, into custody.
Aichi prefectural police escorted Yamazaki from Indonesia by plane on the night of March 12 and arrested him on the morning of March 13 when they entered Japanese airspace.
According to investigative sources, the Nishiyama Farm company offered investors a chance to reap in rewards from the popularity of Japan’s famed fruits.
Under the plan, if investors purchased peaches and other products by credit card, the company would resell the items overseas for higher prices. Nishiyama Farm promised to reimburse the investors the original costs of the products and to pay dividends.
During the two years through 2019, the company collected about 13.3 billion yen ($90.3 million) from around 930 people in 31 prefectures, including Aichi, Osaka and Tokyo.
However, dividend payments began to be delayed, and most of the money has not been returned to the investors.
Aichi prefectural police believe Yamazaki, who was the de facto manager of the company, was aware Nishiyama Farm’s business was deteriorating but continued to cheat investors out of their money.
A former executive who was second in command at Nishiyama Farm and four solicitors have been convicted and sentenced for violating the investment law.
Each of the court rulings pointed to Yamazaki as the ringleader in the fraud scheme.
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