The bank accounts of Kanju Sato, a former home affairs minister accused of defrauding the state, and his wife have a combined balance of more than 100 million yen, according to investigative sources.
This revelation suggests the couple had been embezzling money for a long period of time, the sources said Thursday. The 100 million yen in question was found in accounts held by Sato himself and his wife, Miyoko.
On Wednesday, police sources said Sato had basically admitted embezzling 17 million yen from the state in the form of state-paid salary payments meant for a woman falsely registered as his secretary.
Sato resigned from the House of Representatives and was expelled from the Democratic Party of Japan last week. He and his wife were arrested Sunday.