Sharing confiscated Yakuza funds
The authorities have agreed to a deal with Tokyo to share confiscated assets in Swiss bank accounts belonging to a convicted Japanese gang leader.
About SFr58.4 million ($57 million) was seized in Zurich five years ago during an international investigation into Japan’s biggest yakuza crime syndicate.
Susumu Kajiyama, a leading member of the Goryôkai organisation, was convicted of money laundering and extortion by a court in Japan in 2005.
Switzerland provided legal assistance in the case against Kajiyama, who was once known as the Loan Shark Czar.
The Federal Justice Office said details of the sharing agreement would be settled with the Japanese government next week.
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