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© 2019 AFPJOC chief 'did not know' of lobby firm's links to middle man: investigators
By Nathalie Alonso PARIS©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
20 Comments
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David Varnes
He didn't know... riiiiight.
If you believe that, I've got a few islands off the coast of Hokkaido I can sell ya real cheap, too.
MarkX
So, he just threw Dentsu under the bus. But then again, they are so big and powerful, they can sustain this hit.
Yubaru
I have a hard time believing that no one investigated the firm that was receiving the funds prior to them being paid out.
zones2surf
So, let's see, Dentsu recommended that this firm be used and the JOC disbursed millions of dollars to this consulting company without knowing anything about it?!?!
And Dentsu didn't put together a detailed presentation / briefing paper on WHY they recommended that this firm be used?!
Complete and utter cow manure!!
kurisupisu
Bribery in sports and to get the Olympics?
It could never happen.....
gogogo
This has been reported two years ago as bribes, do people forget so easily?
dbsaiya
For someone who holds the purse strings, at best, he's inept and incompetent for not doing his due diligence.
sir_bentley28
Now let's see how this excuse works out in a big corruption case!
Ricky Kaminski13
Where did the money come from? Shouldn’t be too hard to trace that sort of coin.
Scrote
This guy is lying through his teeth. I want to see what they got for their $2.3 million: show me the reports and advice they received that could justify a payment of this amount. So far they have revealed nothing at all.
Vernon Watts
Don't hold your breath that he will be prosecuted since his great-grandfather was Emperor.
HollisBrown
It’s interesting that he has been charged by French prosecutors, yet he’s still able to make public statements by holding press conferences to protest his innocence.
wanderlust
Corporate governance, accountability and due diligence at its finest in Japan. Nobody knows nothing. Just blindly put the 'hanko' or your signature on what ever paper is put in front of you.
zones2surf
@HollisBrown,
Indeed. But what's even more interesting is this:
Wait, what?? The French investigators questioned him but didn't arrest him and detain him?????
Are you kidding me????
ThePBot
Yeah right.
A more believable story would be that maybe on the flight there, a pilot gave him something to drink, then got drunk, and now can't remember anything.
Kenji Fujimori
Typical of our old generation, first comes denial, then comes acceptance and defeat, then comes fake bow and appology in a press conference.
vinarius@pm.catv.ne.jp
This is very standard Japanese excuse. What shame ???. He is the chairman handling billion or Yen ???.
I do not know ???.it was misunderstanding ???. What a joke ???. this kind of joke is for a child.
minello7
So much hypocrisy and contradiction regarding the way the Japanese system uses the law to protect or deny accusations toward Japan or Japanese nationals or how the world views Japan. The justice system in Japan is flawed and dysfunctional , now is the time to join the laws of the 21st century, you can't keep hiding behind cultural views , and the using, " Well this is Japan, and this is how we do things". you can't expect to be a major player on the world political stage and push for globalization if you are not willing to accept facts that come from both inside and outside of Japan. Japan Inc is facing so many problems internally, but we see very little action regarding those Japanese being held accountable, but see a quick reaction to unfounded accusations and jailing against a leading foreign CEO. Time for the laws to be changed, to fit in with the 21st Century.