Aum Shinrikyo has used some of the money it earned from the sale of a number of premises in the town of Kiso-Fukushima, Nagano Prefecture, to compensate victims of crimes the cult has been accused of, the cult's bankruptcy administrator said Tuesday. Administrator Saburo Abe told a news conference Tuesday that the cult contacted him earlier this month to say that it plans to hand over some of the money that the town pays for the property. It is the first time that the cult has handed over money to compensate its victims. Abe said he has received 4.97 million yen. In a statement issued Dec. 1, Aum admitted for the first time its culpability in a series of crimes, apologized to victims and said it will provide as much compensation as possible. Aum has expressed its intention to continue negotiations over which assets it will be able to transfer to the trustee and how much it will be able to offer to compensate victims, according to sources close to the case. The next round of negotiations is slated for Jan. 17. The cult is selling its facilities across Japan ahead of the scheduled enforcement Dec. 27 of two laws -- one aimed at cracking down on Aum's activities and the other to pave the way for the seizure of the cult's properties to compensate victims.
