Commando...
Never misses...
A bus convenient for his mission...
1990s, 2005, 2006, and 2008
Once I was sitting at a desk on which computer screens were busy indicating money transactions like in a dealing room of a financial institute.
It is open at least to those in this trade networked through dedicated lines connecting banks and broker houses, in addition to media companies, all over the world.
But, today, I checked money laundering.
http://www.kpmg.com.kh/files/Advisory_AntiMoneyLaundering2007.pdf
According to IMF, the amount of money hidden through tax havens reaches over $5 trillion, including non-illegal money and illegal money.
So, it is reasonable to assume that there is about $1 trillion underground money being handled in money laundering schemes.
From Japan, $10 billion is thought to be added to this dark pool of money every year.
And, several years ago, a Japanese emerging IT company leveraged a kind of money laundering to put varnish on its financial statements, so that its stock prices were assessed extremely high. Specifically, its expected net profits were evaluated as 6 billion yen through window-dressed accounts. This promising figure drove further the total market value of the IT company's stocks to actually reach 180 billion yen ($1.8 billion) as so many people purchased stocks of the company.
(http://www.nikkeibp.co.jp/sj/2/contribute/f/04/index4.html)
Then, the company, called Livedoor, recklessly ventured into purchasing one of major TV stations in Tokyo through buying up outstanding stocks of its subsidiary radio station that was then the biggest shareholder of its parent TV network company. Livedoor got big support and advice from a Japanese branch of Lehman Brothers that provided 80 billion yen ($800 million) as an acquisition loan for the media-spotlighted IT company at the time.
Put simply, this foolish purchasing play failed. The Japanese public and audiences were relieved to see that a suspicious IT company failed in occupying a highly-public TV broadcasting company. Eventually, in 2006, the young president of the IT company was arrested and indicted in Tokyo on a charge of false registration statement of financial report. And, in 2008, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and disappeared from Wall Street.
So, this is a typical case that a suspicious IT company, a TV broadcasting company, and a Wall-Street-associated financial institute like Lehman Brothers can constitute a triangle of advanced money crimes, since the term "IT" has a cutting edge impression, "TV" gives a means of information/reputation manipulation, and "Wall Street-associated finance" satisfies expectations and desires of people, consumers, and stock buyers.
Yet, the outcome from this antisocial foul story in 2005 was falls of major players in 2006 and 2008.
Nonetheless, next time, they might act in a more harmful manner, involving a new cast, such as more influential politicians, more terrorist-type gangsters, and more poisonous entertainers.
That is why I hope that the God would send heavenly army again to eradicate such crimes and criminals, if its commando is always here or there. Truly, what law-abiding Japanese citizens need is any bit little of samurai spirit if without the sword.
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