Tokyo police arrested a former manager of Nihon University's weightlifting club on Tuesday for allegedly defrauding the club's scholarship students of money, including by claiming the funds would go toward tuition fees.

Kenji Nanba, 63, was arrested on suspicion of swindling four scholarship students out of a total of ¥2.05 million in December 2022 by saying that the money included facility costs, from which they were actually exempt.

Police believe that Nanba has collected a total of about ¥38 million from 48 students over 10 years by telling similar lies. He is believed to have used swindled money to buy business suits and bags and to cover the cost of painting his luxury BMW car.

Nanba denies the allegations, according to investigative sources, saying that he believes he received the money as donations with the consent of students' parents and that he did not use any of the money for personal purposes.

According to the university, Nanba began such scams around 20 years ago or earlier, receiving a total of ¥53.2 million. The university detected the fraud during an investigation into a separate scandal, and it has fully compensated 58 parents of former club members whom it confirmed as victims.

Following his arrest, the university said in a statement that it deeply apologizes to society and will continue to fully cooperate with investigative authorities.

Nanba became the club's manager in April 2000. After the fraud came to light, the university dismissed him in July 2024 and consulted with police.

Established in 1965, the university's weightlifting club has won the national intercollegiate championships 23 times and produced many Olympic athletes.