Society

Computer venture chief suspected of tax evasion

Jan 25 (NHK) - Tokyo prosecutors have served the president of a supercomputer venture with a fresh arrest warrant on suspicion of corporate tax evasion.

Investigators with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office say Motoaki Saito is suspected of evading about 2 million dollars in corporate tax. They believe the PEZY Computing president concealed some 8 million dollars in income over the course of 5 years through 2014.

The 50-year-old suspect is alleged to have reported fictitious outsourcing costs and used other tricks to hide income, including subsidies and other funds, from the government.

Sources close to Saito say a race car enterprise he virtually ran posted huge losses and was taken over by an affiliate of his company.

Prosecutors believe his company may have improperly pumped money into the affiliate to cover the losses.

Tokyo prosecutors also indicted Saito and another executive on Wednesday on additional charges of swindling 2 million dollars in subsidies from the government.

They were arrested last month for allegedly fraudulently obtaining subsidies from a government-affiliated organization.

Companies Saito has helped managed have received more than 90 million dollars in government-approved subsidies and loans. Prosecutors will look into where this money went.

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