Society

BookOff Group Reports Y68 Million Loss Due to Fraudulent Purchases

Oct 16 (News On Japan) - BookOff Group Holdings has announced the findings of an investigation into fraudulent activities, including fictitious buybacks, uncovered at stores nationwide. The total loss amounts to Y68 million.

BookOff Group Holdings President Horiuchi Yasutaka: "We deeply apologize for the significant concern and inconvenience caused."

BookOff Group Holdings revealed in a report by a special investigation committee that losses from embezzlement of cash and goods at 26 locations nationwide amounted to Y68 million.

The company cited a lack of compliance awareness among employees as the cause and announced that several employees involved in the misconduct had been dismissed for disciplinary reasons.

The company is considering filing criminal charges and pursuing civil litigation in response.

Along with disciplinary measures for executives, the company plans to announce preventive measures early next month to prevent future occurrences.

In June, BookOff Group had postponed its earnings announcement after discovering that employees at its subsidiary-run stores had allegedly obtained cash through fictitious purchases and improper inventory accounting. A special investigation committee was established.

For the fiscal year ending in May, both sales and ordinary income increased compared to the previous year. However, due to special losses incurred from investigation costs related to the fraud, net profit fell by more than Y1 billion from the previous year to approximately Y1.7 billion.

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