National News

UFJ trio arrested for obstruction

Former UFJ Bank Vice President Kazuyoshi Okazaki and two other former executives were arrested Dec. 1 for allegedly obstructing government inspections.

Former UFJ bank executives (from left) Kazuyoshi Okazaki, Sen Hayakawa and Masayuki Inaba were arrested Dec. 1.

The arrests were made after the Financial Services Agency (FSA) filed a criminal complaint Oct. 7 against the core banking unit of UFJ Holdings Inc. and the three former executives with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office, saying they obstructed FSA inspections in October 2003.

In addition to Okazaki, 56, the two former executives arrested are Sen Hayakawa, 55, and Masayuki Inaba, 51.

The three former executives are suspected of moving 110 items, including boxes of financial information on large-lot borrowers, with the intention of hiding them from FSA officers between August and October last year. The officers also saw bank employees destroying documents during inspections.

The arrested trio have basically owned up to the allegations but they have given different explanations of the conspiracy.

Under the Banking Law, individuals convicted of obstructing FSA inspections face a prison term of up to one year and fines of up to ¥3 million. Corporations can be fined up to ¥200 million.

The criminal investigation is a major embarrassment for UFJ Holdings as it is planning to merge with Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. by October 2005. (AP, Kyodo)

Shukan ST: Dec. 10, 2004

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