The stock bought by a former vice president of Yakult Honsha Co. with rebates from the Tokyo branch of Cresvale International Ltd. was not transferred under his name because the branch chairman did not want authorities to discover his activities, sources close to the case said Wednesday.
According to the sources, investigators believe branch chairman Akira Setogawa orchestrated the rebates and stock record manipulation in an effort to help the former executive evade income tax.
Setogawa himself is believed to have received some 500 million yen as a secret bonus and is under investigation for tax evasion. The money was deposited in a Hong Kong bank account, according to sources.