TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested nine Japanese nationals who are suspected of raising approximately 17 billion yen by selling unregistered foreign corporate bonds based in the Philippines, reports NHK (Aug. 8).
Tokyo police believe the mastermind is Hajime Sumi, the 45-year-old the de facto manager of S Division Holdings Inc., a Philippines-based company engaged in real estate and other businesses.
Sumi and eight other men and women are suspected of soliciting approximately 131 million yen from nine investors between 2021 and 2023 by offering unregistered foreign corporate bonds.
Police did not reveal whether the nine suspects admit to violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
The group collectively claimed, “Philippine business will grow in the future. Purchasing corporate bonds will earn monthly dividends, earning an annual interest of up to 24 percent.”
During their solicitations, the nine allegedly solicited investors by explaining that they were developing businesses such as the Manila Shimbun, a newspaper publishing business aimed at Japanese residents in the area.
Hajime Sumi (X)“24 percent annual dividend”
In June 2024, Tokyo police began conducting searches of companies affiliated with S Division Holdings in Osaka Prefecture.
A man in his 50s from the Kansai region lost contact with the company after purchasing more than 20 million yen in corporate bonds.
Three years ago, an acquaintance introduced him to the company. “The company operates a call center business in the Philippines, and if you purchase the bonds, you can earn a 24 percent annual dividend,” the acquaintance said. He invested a total of 25 million yen.
The man recalled, “I knew I’d need money in the future for child support and my children’s education expenses, so I wanted to increase my savings through investments. I’d heard that this offered a better return than savings such as education insurance.”
The man said of Hajime Sumi, the aforementioned de facto manager, whom he met during the solicitation, “I had the impression he was a young investor. He told me that there were still very few conglomerates in the Philippines, and that his goal was to create one himself.”
After investing, he received monthly dividends for a while, but the payments stopped around the end of last year. When he asked for a refund in May of last year, he was no longer able to contact the company.
The man consulted a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against the company seeking a refund.
Tokyo police are considering filing charges of fraud and plan to continue the investigation.
Tokyo police arrested 9 Japanese nationals for violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, including Hajime Sumi, second from upper left (X)“This does not mean they can be trusted”
A representative from the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission stated, “Unregistered companies may use investment funds from other customers to reimburse their customers. Even if they have received reimbursements in the past, this does not mean they can be trusted.”
The commission urges users to check the list on the Financial Services Agency’s web site to see if a particular company is registered.
AloJapan.com