Former president of hybrid martial
arts show production company K-1, Kazuyoshi Ishii, 49, was arrested
on suspicion of tax evasion by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's
Office. He used to be the Master of Shodokaikan, an international Karate
organization. To fully understand this incident, we must start from
learning a system, how prosecutors investigate tax evasion cases, which
normally falls under the jurisdiction of National Tax Administration
Agency.
Tax evasion cases could only be legally prosecuted by tax administration
official file documentations of accusation to public prosecutors office.
Therefore, it is the prosecutors' job, not of the police, to arrest
suspects, and the arrested suspects are detained at the detention house
instead of police office detention wards for investigation. So, for
prosecutors, tax officials are important clients who provide them with
cases to investigate. For tax officials who do not possess legal power
to convict people evading taxes, prosecutors come in as an extremely
useful arm of their work. Thus, the two organizations work together
intimately, like partners.
Meanwhile, there are dozens of prosecutors quitting their jobs to become
attorneys. We usually call them "Yame-Ken (former prosecutor)."
Surprisingly enough, for Yame-Ken attorneys, representing someone who
are being indicted in tax evasion cases, is very convenient. They do
not have to be good, because they possess connection in the prosecutor's
office that could eventually win them more favorable rulings. So, when
someone learns that tax officials are investigating him on tax evasion
charges, he would consult a Yame-Ken attorneys for useful advice, and
when he is actually charged, the Yame-Ken would represent him in court.
I have learned from sources that Ishii took the procedure, consulting
his case with a big-shot Yame-Ken attorney. And it seemed to be working
okay, until late last year.
What Ishii and his attorney had planned was as follows: The statute
of limitations for tax evasion is three years. So, admit the allegations
committed during the past three years, paying the necessary fines. Maybe
some of the offense would result in indictment without detention, but
if things go well using the Yame-Ken's influence in the prosecutor's
office, he would be able to win probation, therefore, he would not have
to spend prison terms.
However, the scheme did not work as they planned, and Ishii was arrested,
because prosecutors have discovered that Ishii had provided false evidence
on charges he had admitted. Ishii had staged a false claim that he had
failed to invite boxing champion Mike Tyson to fight in Japan, resulting
him to pay penalty to his sponsor. In order to prove his story, he paid
someone to file lawsuit against himself, but the prosecutors investigating
Ishii's case were not fooled by his charade.
Making someone sue you, and then file for legal compromise in court,
is one of the ways to evade taxes, and I have seen some cases in the
past.The system works like this. First, I would ask someone to sue me,
making him to demand certain amount of money I have neglected to pay
him back. Then, I accept his demand and file for legal compromise. As
soon as the case is settled at court, I would transfer the payment agreed
at the court to the attorney who represented the alleged debtor. However,
I am paying the debtor's attorney. So, except for the expense paid to
the attorney and relatively small fee paid to the alleged debtor, the
remaining money would return to myself. But from my account book, the
money is gone. Money is transferred from me, to the attorney (and my
so-called debtor) and then back to myself. So, in other words, the whole
procedure is a kind of money laundering that has a guarantee by court.
Ishii is believed to have taken similar procedure, mobilizing the Yame-Ken
attorney. Then why did he get arrested? Sources tells me that the prosecutors
at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office were strongly offended
by none other than the presence of the big guy who used to be a prosecutor.
The sources said the attorney,
who had actually made an offer to me to evade taxes, is believed to
have been masterminding a number of similar tax evasion cases in the
past. There is even a tip-off that he had been behind the scenes of
a notorious tax evasion case of a famous entertainers management company.
I suspect the attorney had been confident that if he represented Ishii's
case, prosecutors would give in and offer favorable charges for Ishii.
However, the things did not go as he had expected. Maybe there were
some prosecutors that possessed conscience. Maybe the prosecutors were
simply jealous of the attorney, who earned large amount of money from
his rich clients.
Anyway, the prosecutors really showed their guts in investigating Ishii's
case. Because they did not want the press to learn that they are after
Ishii, they conducted their preliminary questioning against Ishii at
a Tokyo luxury hotel instead of the usual prosecutor's office. If the
prosecutors accelerate to full throttle in their investigation, nobody
could stop them, not even an influential ex-prosecutor. Selecting an
ex-prosecutor attorney to represent you has a serious side effect. You
must admit to certain degree of what you have done, and earn compromise
in return. I believe Ishii thought he did not have to go to jail if
he was defended by a Yame-Ken attorney, but that was a serious lack
of judgment.
From my point of view, attorneys who had careers in prosecutor's office
would be of a real help only when someone had actually committed felony.
Under such circumstances, he would have to admit what he had done, and
provide necessary evidences either to win a reduced length in prison
term, or in some case, win a bail.
But the most serious flaw in Ishii's conspiracy, I think, was the original
cover-up scheme provided by his accountant. The accountant must have
been a second class guy. Under the scheme, Ishii was supposed to have
paid the penalty of failing to invite Mike Tyson to a Bangladeshi. They
may have attempted to reduce the amount of gratuition using the Bangladeshi,
but who would believe such an absurd claim? They should have hired someone
that has some personal and economic reputation, or at least, someone
who could easily be get in touch with. There is no use to hire somebody
if he is unavailable to provide necessary testimony to the prosecutors.
So, I feel sorry for Ishii. He must have paid a handsome amount of
money to both his attorney and his accountant as consultation fee, and
ended up in jail. However, sources say that Ishii was apparently worried
at some point last year that he had consulted the Yame-Ken attorney.
To tell you the truth, Ishii had sought my advice through an outlaw
shortly before his arrest. I turned down the offer to take the case
because there had already been a scheme--and a really bad one--in progress,
and there was no way I could do a clean job out of it. As for Ishii,
he, as a martial arts expert, had made the fatal mistake of choosing
a wrong person to fight against. Prosecutors were not so easily defeated,
especially in terms of intellectual tactics.
And worst of all, I think Ishii's original idea to earn money from
martial arts fighting was an ill-conceived one. For someone who knows
underground economy, martial arts fighting is just a form of an entertainment,
a cheesy show. However, the matches are broadcasted on television, with
sensational narrations and a bunch of commentators decorating the whole
process as though they are seriously fighting. I believe there is no
significance in conducting a championship in such a show. No matter
who is on the ring, Mike Tyson or Bob Sapp, they are just mortal human
being. A gunshot in the head would definitely kill them.
In this country, martial arts
fighting, have always been ways for the yakuzas and underground economy
to earn money. Ishii and television companies should not have touched
such a dangerous concession.
Anyway, if anyone wishes for my advice in tax evasion cases, come to
me in the very early stage of the crisis. I promise to provide you a
much better scheme. Of course, consultation fee will not be so moderate.
