A former employee of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc. was arrested Wednesday by Tokyo police on suspicion of defrauding an employment group linked to the labor ministry, Tokyo police said.

According to investigators, Akira Mori, who was in charge of the newspaper's marketing department, is suspected of setting up a shell printing company and claiming it was run by senior citizens.

Mori, 58, is suspected of using the shell company to defraud the Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities out of 5 million yen in employment subsidies.

Mori had been seconded from the business newspaper's headquarters to its printing subsidiary, according to the investigators.

The organization gives financial support to companies set up by three or more people aged 45 or older. It provides subsidies for up to two-thirds of business expenditures for six months, up to maximum of 5 million yen.

Mori has been fired by the newspaper publisher for allegedly forcing the printing subsidiary to cover 7.2 million yen in debts, the police said.

The Metropolitan Police Department also arrested Tadashi Koishi, 67, a former employee of a Nihon Keizai subsidiary, in connection with the case.

The president's office of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said earlier it had no comment.