Shirasuka’s testimonial forms part of a mounting corruption scandal between 500.com and former state minister Tsukasa Akimoto, who was indicted on bribery chargers for accepting over US$70,000 from the company between 2017 and 2018 during which time he was in charge of IR policymaking. He is alleged to have used the money to pay-off supporters in his re-election campaign.
According to a statement released by Shirasuka’s office yesterday, the lawmaker cooperated with investigators and explained that “none of his actions constitute anything illegal”.
Shirasuka is the second member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party to have admitted receiving cash and favours from 500.com.
Although Shirasuka was a member of a cross-party group of legislators promoting Japan’s push to establish a domestic casino industry at the time of Akimoto’s arrest, prosecutors have decided against pressing charges, as he reportedly had “no authority over IR policy or legislation at the time”.
While Japan recently legalised casinos in the hope of attracting more foreigners to invigorate the economy, the bribery scandal has garnered considerable public outcry, with opposition parties calling for a reversal on national policies concerning IRs.
Last month, 500.com reported revenue of US$400,000 in Q1 2020, a net loss of US$5.2m, with cash reserves of just US$47m by the end of March. 500.com has yet to file its official annual report despite receiving a two-week extension from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, blaming the delay in part on the internal investigation launched in January following the Japanese bribery debacle.
The New York Stock Exchange put the company on notice last week, stating that should it fail to file the report within the next six months, “suspension and delisting procedures will generally commence”.
