Osaka Police Arrest Men Who Laundered Money for Offshore Operator

The Osaka police have arrested three people suspected of involvement in an illegal gambling-related money laundering operation. Authorities believe that the trio has laundered dozens of millions of dollars for black market companies.

The Men Were Involved with an Offshore Operator

The three arrestees include Hatsuyo Kinoshita, 40, Yukiko Han, 41, and Yuya Santanda, 40. All of them are executives of companies based in the Osaka Prefecture, the police understood. The three arrestees ran companies that were involved with Yous Casino, an offshore online gambling operator.

Authorities also understood that the three men laundered approximately $35 million, which was sent to their accounts by around 10,000 people. The senders, according to the police, were also associated with Yous Casino.

The money was sent to the three culprits’ accounts via 140,000 transactions that took place from March 2022 to June 2023. The payments were disguised as legitimate business revenue in order to fool the authorities.

Approximately $20 million was sent back to customers as winnings. The rest of the money remained as profit to the offshore operator. The arrested men took approximately 1.5-2% of the profit.

Japan Prepares to Open Its First Integrated Resort

Japan, for context, prohibits any form of online gambling. The country has historically tried to avoid gambling, despite the popularity of Pachinko machines, which are not considered to constitute gambling. Besides that, luck-based games, such as gashapon machines and gacha games remain very popular among locals.

However, Japan has recently somewhat warmed up to the traditional casino industry and is preparing to open the first integrated resort in the country. Expected to open in 2030 after several delays, the Osaka IR is a joint project between MGM Resorts and Orix Corporation. The project is set to use 52 acres on Yumeshima Island, an artificial island with a total size of 700 acres in Osaka Bay.

The development of the property was inflated by a variety of setbacks, pushing the total price to more than $9 billion. Despite the hefty price tag, MGM remains very optimistic about the development.

The resort is expected to greatly bolster tourism, benefitting both the IR’s owners and the local economy. In addition to gambling, the resort will offer some 2,500 rooms across three hotel buildings, as well as convention facilities and shopping and dining outlets, among other amenities.