World News

Nicos linked to about 20 racketeers

Nippon Shinpan Co., mired in allegations that its executives paid off a racketeer to expedite proceedings at the firm's general shareholders' meetings, had failed to sever ties with a number of racketeers during the late 1980s, a former company executive said Nov. 18.

The major Japanese consumer credit company had ties with about 20 "sokaiya" corporate extortionists around that time, prior to signing a "fictitious contract" with racketeer Kikuo Kondo, 60, to make him an "adviser" to the firm, the former executive said.

Nippon Shinpan, popularly known as Nicos, "was careful about the amounts it paid to sokaiya so that it would not look unnatural in the account books," said the executive. "Even so, quite a large sum had gone to sokaiya, although the amount did not reach ¥100 million annually."

Around 1987, Nippon Shinpan, heeding external advice, went through the motions of cutting ties with all of the racketeers with whom it was associated, but then re-established relations with them after several months because they continued to harass and threaten company officials.

Between 1990 and 1995, Nippon Shinpan managed to halve the number of sokaiya with which it had relationships. But it still was reportedly paying more than ¥10 million to them each year.

According to police, the company contracted Kondo as its adviser in January 1988.

Kondo was arrested Nov. 16, along with eight officials of the firm. The company's officials allegedly gave ¥8 million in cash to the racketeer in violation of the Commercial Code.

Shukan ST: Nov. 29, 2002

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