Photo/Illutration Chizuo Matsumoto, the leader of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, is transported in a police car in Tokyo in June 1995. He was later hanged for his crimes. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Police in Saitama Prefecture uncovered tens of millions of yen in cash while searching the home of Shoko Asahara's widow and son seven years after the Aum Shinrikyo cult leader's execution, according to sources.

The unusual raid on the family of Asahara, also known as Chizuo Matsumoto, underscores authorities' continued close scrutiny of individuals linked to the doomsday cult that perpetrated a deadly nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subway system 30 years ago. 

Asahara's wife and second son reside at the apartment in Koshigaya.

Police conducted a search of the apartment in mid-April under legislation targeting organizations responsible for mass murder, a law intended to keep Aum Shinrikyo’s successors under surveillance.

Authorities said the cash was found divided into smaller bundles and hidden in multiple locations throughout the residence. Both police and the Public Security Intelligence Agency are now investigating the money's origin and intended use.

Although the PSIA attempted to conduct an onsite inspection of the apartment in March, it was blocked by Asahara’s wife, prompting the agency to report the matter to police.

Aum Shinrikyo was disbanded following the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack that killed 14 people and sickened thousands. Shoko Asahara was executed in 2018 for the attack and other crimes. 

However, Aleph and two other successor groups remain under close government scrutiny.

While authorities believe neither the wife nor the son is currently affiliated with any of these groups, the PSIA continues to monitor their activities.

Aleph was ordered in 2020 to pay 1.025 billion ($6.89 million) in damages to the victims of Aum’s crimes following a lawsuit filed by a victims’ support organization.

Compensation payments, however, have been delayed.

While Aleph reported assets of 1.3 billion yen in 2019, that figure had dropped to 61 million yen by February this year, raising questions about the group’s financial transparency and its ability to fulfill legal obligations.

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