photo by Dan Zen

What is it about Britons and big cons in Japan in October?  There’s been two big ones in the news this month and we’re waiting for the third (as things always come in threes!)

The first was a British man who won 16 million yen betting on horse races and then escaped Tokyo tax officials by transferring all his booty (and himself) out of the country and back to Hong Kong, where he currently resides.  Sounds like a James Bond film?

The story, announced by the Asahi Shinbun, takes even further twists as it has become apparent that the man used a complicated predictive software system to “guess” the winners of races, and when the tax authorities closed in on him and confiscated his passport; he reported it as lost to the British Embassy and immediately got another one that he used to flee Japan.

Although he is wanted for a payback in taxes and penalties by the Japanese tax authorities, there is a tax agreement in place between Japan and Britain.  UK tax authorities may share information with Japanese authorities, but the Japanese authorities are in no position to take a British national into custody overseas over a case in Japan.   Looks like things are turning his way…

And just when this story is dying down, another erupts about a British lady conning a Japanese Bank (where she works in London) out of millions of dollars.  She persuaded colleagues to ignore rules and make huge money transfers to help a friend’s airline that was going bust (Indonesian Air Efata).  In return, she gained around £1.95million in pay-offs and used the money to pay for breast implants, earrings and her mortgage on her luxury London townhouse.

October has been a busy month for news on British cons in Japan and with 3 days to go, there could be time for one more!