Public prosecutors served a fourth arrest warrant Wednesday to a former Defense Agency official at the center of a major procurement scandal for allegedly taking 3 million yen in bribes from Toyo Communications Equipment Co.
The arrest of Kenichi Ueno, who has been charged twice with breach of trust in connection with overcharging the agency for defense equipment, came after prosecutors conducted another raid earlier in the day of the company's headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Ueno, a former deputy chief of the agency's Central Procurement Office, received bribes from Toyo Communications, which is 38.9 percent owned by NEC, in return for reducing the amount of money the company had to refund due to the overcharge, prosecutors said.
They allege Ueno received the money at the main factory of Toyo Communications in Kanagawa Prefecture on Sept. 16, 1994, after the amount of the refund reduction was decided. He deposited 5 million yen at nearby banks shortly after receiving the money, they said.
Prosecutors suspect 3 million yen of the money was given to Ueno in return for the refund reduction, the sources said.