The Tokyo District has revoked the bail of Tsukasa Akimoto – the House of Representatives member charged with taking bribes and violating Japan’s organized crime punishment laws by paying off a witness in a case involving an IR bid.
It was also decided that Akimoto would forfeit the JPY30 million (US$284,000) bond deposit he previously paid.
Akimoto is said to have received a bribe totaling JPY7.6 million from Chinese company 500.com, which had been seeking to develop an IR in either Hokkaido or Okinawa at the time of the offence.
When indicted on 3 February following his second arrest in as many months, the district court decided to grant bail and Akimoto was released on bail 12 February while professing his innocence.
However he was arrested again in August, and for a fourth time in September, for attempting to give cash in payment for two former advisors of 500.com to provide false testimony in court. Akimoto has been held in a Tokyo detention center since the additional charges were filed
