Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - An immigration official said that on Wednesday, a Japanese man who was wanted for stealing $7 million fr...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - An immigration official said that on Wednesday, a Japanese man who was wanted for stealing $7 million from a pandemic subsidy programme was sent back to Japan from Indonesia.
Mitsuhiro Taniguchi was arrested by Indonesian police on the island of Sumatra earlier this month. An Indonesian immigration official said in a statement that Taniguchi got on a flight from Jakarta to Narita.
"This man is being sent back to his home country because his passport was taken away by the Japanese government and he doesn't have a permit to stay. He will now be on our list of people we want to keep away "he said.
Japanese authorities say that Taniguchi helped steal 960 million yen ($7 million) that was meant for small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was reported by Kyodo news.
The Japanese man is said to have put in thousands of fake applications for the subsidy programme. After being put on a police wanted list, he fled to Indonesia in October 2020. Japanese media say that Taniguchi's ex-wife and two of his sons have been arrested in connection with the claims.
Authorities in Indonesia said he told people in Sumatra that he wanted to invest in fishing in the area.
($1 = 136.39 yen)
