Indonesia to deport Japanese man involved in $90 million investment fraud

BATAM, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities announced Tuesday that a Japanese man accused of taking part in a $90 million investment fraud will be returned home after four years on the run.

Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, director of the state office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said 43-year-old Yusuke Yamazaki was killed off the coast of Pulau Bran in Kepulauan Riau province on January 31 while trying to cross into Malaysia in a small wooden boat. arrested. He is expected to be deported later today.

Mataram said the ship was also carrying four illegal Indonesian migrant workers and two crew members. The others were detained by police for further investigation, while Yamazaki was handed over to the Batam Immigration Department on February 2.

Mataram said Yamazaki initially gave a false name and was detained on suspicion of visa violation, but police later identified him as an international fugitive.

He was an executive at Nishiyama Farm, an Okayama-based company that ran farm tours throughout Japan, but the company went bankrupt in February 2019 due to fraud charges. In October 2021, five people associated with Nishiyama Farm were arrested on suspicion of fraud worth approximately 13.3 billion yen. According to Japanese media reports, Yamazaki left Japan for Hong Kong in February 2020.

Aichi Prefectural Police listed Yamazaki as a fugitive on the 2022 Interpol Blue Notification. According to Mataram, Yamazaki is believed to have arrived in Indonesia via Turkey in April of the following year.

“Further legal procedures will be carried out by the Japanese government after his transfer to Japan,” Batam Immigration Bureau Director Samuel Toba said at a press conference.

He added that Japanese police are sending investigators to Indonesia to help deport Yamazaki, who will fly to Jakarta at noon and then take an overnight Japan Airlines flight to Tokyo.

In February 2022, the Nagoya District Court ordered the defendants to pay approximately 320 million yen (approximately $2.2 million) in a lawsuit filed by 41 investors from Tokyo and four prefectures seeking compensation for damages from Mr. Yamazaki and others. .