Haruyuki Takahashi was arrested on Wednesday, the 17th, accused of having received a millionaire bribe from a local company, the Japanese clothing chain Aoki, to favor the company in holding the Olympics.
Haruyuki Takahashi reportedly received a bribe in exchange for different treatment in the process of selecting sponsors for the Tokyo Olympics
Member of the direction of the Local Organizing Committee of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Haruyuki Takahashi, 78, was arrested on Wednesday, 17, accused of having received bribes from a local company, the Japanese clothing chain Aoki. The bribes, which would have reached the value of 51 million yen (R$ 1.94 million), would be a kind of compensation for a consulting service, as disclosed by the Tokyo Public Ministry. The company’s president, 83-year-old Hironori Aoki, and other people allegedly involved in paying bribes to the Japanese government were also arrested. The Public Ministry of Japan suspects that the money was paid to a company linked to the official, in a series of transactions between October 2017 and March 2022, in exchange for different treatment in the process of selecting the sponsors of the Olympics. The clothing company announced in October 2018 that it had become one of the official sponsors of the Olympics, which allowed the use of the event’s emblem and the sale of official products. Aoki also became empowered to make the official Tokyo 2020 uniforms.
Last month, police carried out search operations in the homes of the two accused of running the scheme, as well as in the offices of the Local Organizing Committee, currently empty. Takahashi, who was also the manager of Japan’s largest advertising agency, joined the Committee’s board in June 2014, about a year after the Japanese capital was chosen to host the Olympics. The executive should not accept money or gifts related to his position on the board of directors of the Olympics, which constitutes a conflict of interest and illegal favoritism. This corruption case is yet another on the Japanese government’s list of scandals regarding the hosting of the games. In 2019, the then president of the Japan Olympic Committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, resigned after being involved in allegations of vote-buying to favor the host city’s candidacy. Yasuhiro Mori, the former chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, also had to step down, just five days before the start of the Olympics, due to sexist comments.
*With information from AFP and EFE
Source: Jovempan
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