Total damages estimated at 17 billion yen… Nine men and women based in the Philippines arrested for allegedly soliciting investors by using their own newspaper, “Manila Shimbun,” aimed at Japanese people, as an explanation.

Nine people have been arrested for illegally selling foreign bonds without a license and collecting about 17 billion yen from investors.

The alleged ringleader is Kazuhito Sumi, a 45-year-old man who runs a real estate and business company based in the Philippines.

Between 2021 and 2023, the group told investors things like:

• “Business in the Philippines is about to boom.”
• “You’ll get monthly dividends.”
• “You can earn up to 24% annual interest.”

They used these promises to convince people to invest in unlicensed foreign bonds, gathering over 130 million yen from just 9 known investors.

The group also ran a Japanese-language newspaper in the Philippines called Manila Shimbun, and used its name to make the business seem legitimate when recruiting investors.

In early 2024, the Tokyo police began searching related offices in Japan, including one in Osaka.

One woman who invested 2 million yen said she received payments until January 2024, but they stopped in February. She was told it was due to banking restrictions preventing money transfers.

Police are now investigating further and may charge them with fraud.