Arrested lawmaker Yoshitaka Ikeda is suspected of having instructed his secretary and others to dispose of data and materials related to fundraising party tickets, informed sources said Tuesday.
The special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office suspects that Ikeda, 57, led the destruction of evidence related to alleged slush funds involving the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction, which was once led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The faction is believed to have set quotas for fundraising party ticket sales for its members based on the number of times they had been elected and their positions and kicked back excess revenue to the lawmakers without reporting the money in political funds statements. Ikeda was a member of the Abe faction.