Tokyo Customs on Tuesday filed criminal complaints with prosecutors against an Osaka-based seafood company and two senior officials of the firm's Tokyo branch office on suspicion of evading duties on imported octopus.
The move against Kanbe Co.; Katsuyuki Miyamoto, 56, business manager of Kanbe's Tokyo branch; and another branch employee; follows criminal complaints filed against senior officials of major seafood firm Maruha Corp., the authorities said.
Maruha, Marubeni Corp. and Toyota Tsusho Corp. are among the eight firms previously investigated this year by customs authorities in connection with the case, they said.
Kanbe allegedly evaded duties on imported octopus by falsely claiming the seafood originated in Mauritania in western Africa. Octopus exports to Japan that originate in the African nation are exempt from tariffs due to Japan's preferential tariff system, authorities said.
Kanbe imported the octopuses from the Canary Islands in the North Atlantic, meaning the firm should have paid customs duties of 5 percent.
The firm is suspected of evading around 141.9 million yen in customs duties from January 1997 to November 2000, according to authorities.
Miyamoto has admitted to the allegations, saying the firm had to make profits amid cutthroat competition.