OSAKA -- The head of an Osaka finance company known as the Swiss Private Fund and former executives of the firm and an affiliate were arrested Thursday for allegedly violating the investment deposit and interest rate control law.
The SPF group, claiming to have global headquarters in Zurich, is suspected of obtaining money from people throughout Japan with a promise of investing in financially solid ventures but instead loaning it to heavily indebted borrowers at interest rates higher than the legal ceiling.
Those placed under arrest were the chairman, Masaru Wanaka, 57; Emiko Natsukawa, 38, a former official of an affiliated company; and Hajime Okada, 30, a former SPF executive.