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Komazawa Park Administrator Caught Embezzling ¥12 Million in Usage Fees

 

On Sept. 6 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Lifestyle, Culture and Sports Bureau and Sports Benefits Corporation announced the discovery that income at the Komazawa Olympic Park Sports Complex such as facility usage fees had been embezzled. The theft of funds was committed by an employee of the Tokyo Sports Benefits Corporation, the organization that administers the park and its facilities.

Between June, 2021 and July, 2023, a contract employee at O-Ence Ltd., a subsidiary of the Corporation, embezzled facility usage fees which the employee was tasked with handling. The employee stole roughly 12,000,000 yen [~$81,000 USD] by making transfers to the employee's personal account and withdrawing cash from the company's account. Facility usage fees are classified as the income of the administering organization, so no direct harm to park and facility users of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government occurred as a result of the embezzlement. The employee and O-Ence have already repaid in full the amount that had been stolen.

The incident came to light in July this year when the Corporation became suspicious that an O-Ence employee was embezzling usage fees and reported it to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. They questioned the employee and implemented emergency measures at Komazawa Park to prevent future incidents of the same kind. The employee's acts fall under the criminal category of embezzlement in the course of business, and the Corporation has consulted with the police to submit charges and ensure that the employee be punished. The employee was fired by O-Ence on Aug. 29.

Translator's note: Although Komazawa Park is adjacent to the main campus of Komazawa University, it is not part of the university and the university's national champion ekiden team does not train at the track in the park.


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