Photo/Illutration The headquarters of Kanagawa prefectural police in Yokohama (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

YOKOHAMA—Kanagawa prefectural police announced the arrest of nine people on June 5 on suspicion of involvement in operating an online casino based in the Dutch Caribbean territory of Curacao that had patrons in Japan. 

The group that allegedly violated the organized crime punishment law includes a man who oversaw online casino payment systems.

According to police, Yoshinori Kurata, 42, a company executive in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward, and others are thought to have conspired with additional associates to run online slots and other betting games on the Konibet website from April to May 2024.

Police ascertained that the suspects were involved in the operation of the payment systems of at least six sites and explained that bets placed in Japan are still considered gambling even if an online casino is based abroad.

Investigative sources said a probe into a unique instance of fraud is what led to the case. 

Prefectural police became aware of the existence of accounts in the name of a suspicious corporation in March 2023 due to an unusual number of deposits and withdrawals in a short period of time.

Police suspected that the accounts might be used by online casino visitors for gambling purposes.

As these sites are often based overseas, investigations are usually difficult.

In this case, however, the server was identified based on information that included IP addresses.

After seizing and analyzing the server data, police discovered that the accounts into which customers deposited money were dispersed and allocated. About 10 accounts were in operation at any given time and were being replaced frequently.

Police think this was done to avoid having deposits concentrated in certain accounts, which would be considered suspicious transactions and risk having them frozen.

Customer deposits into these accounts amounted to more than 90 billion yen ($628.8 million) in a little more than a year until July 2024.

Police estimate that about 500 were prepared by purchasing dormant accounts, among other means, to obscure the flow of funds.

A person involved in the investigation said, “The usual investigation process, which involves repeated account inquiries, takes a long time. Seizing the server opened the door to a clearer view of the investigation.” 

Police also believe that the suspects had established their own payment system.

Under the system, when a customer makes a deposit, it is converted into points they can use to place a bet. If they win, the money is transferred to the customer from a dedicated account, police said

A source close to the investigation said, “The focus of the investigation will be whether the highest level of the (criminal) group, the leader, can be exposed.”

Since February, the prefectural police have arrested three of the nine on suspicion of illegally transferring approximately 4.2 billion yen in earnings from online casinos to multiple accounts, and of committing fraud by withdrawing deposits from frozen casino accounts under the guise of demanding payment.

(This article was written by Shuhei Nakajima, Miho Kato and Junji Murakami.)

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