- Yasuo Mori detained by Japanese authorities on suspicion of bid-rigging.
- The other three people were also detained who were involved.
- Haruyuki Takahashi been accused of accepting bribes totaling over 198 million yen.
A former operations manager for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organising committee as well as three other people were detained by Japanese authorities on Wednesday on suspicion of bid-rigging, according to local media.
Yasuo Mori, a former top official, was detained by Tokyo prosecutors on suspicion of being a key participant in the anti-monopoly law violation of setting up games test events, managing the Summer Games competitions, and fixing contract bids.
According to report, 303 million US dollars were contracted to conduct the pre-games and contests at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2021.
AdvertisementFormer Tokyo Games official Yasuo Mori was among four men arrested Wednesday in a bid-rigging probe by Tokyo prosecutors.https://t.co/IQ2BU0awRK
— The Japan News (@The_Japan_News) February 8, 2023
The other three people detained include Yoshiji Kamata and Masahiko Fujino, representatives of the event production companies Cerespo Co. and Fuji Creative Corp., respectively, both of which were awarded contracts to organise test events, and Koji Hemmi, a former executive at the Japanese advertising giant Dentsu Inc.
Local news sources state that Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike called Mori’s detention “very regretful” to the press.
Haruyuki Takahashi, a former employee of the organising committee, has been accused four times in the bribery scandal of accepting bribes totaling over 198 million yen (roughly 1.5 million dollars) in exchange for assisting companies in being selected as sponsors or marketing partners of the important event.
The committee’s marketing division, which was in charge of selecting sponsors, was allegedly influenced by Takahashi, who was also a former senior managing director at Dentsu.
