Tokyo 2020-related bribery conviction for former Daiko executive
Tokyo District Court on Friday convicted Yoshikazu Taniguchi, former director and executive of the Japanese agency Daiko, of providing six million yen (€30,780) to Haruyuki Takahashi, former executive of the Olympic organising committee.
Yoshikazu Taniguchi, former managing director and adviser of Daiko, was found guilty of bribing Haruyuki Takahashi, former executive of the Olympic Organising Committee, with about six million yen, Xinhua reported. He was convicted by the Tokyo District Court in connection with the bribery and corruption scandal at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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The court sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment, which was suspended for four years at the request of the prosecution. The court confirmed that the convicted person’s actions were driven by an interest and goal of personal gain rather than a genuine interest in supporting the Olympic Games.
The defence lawyers tried to prove their client’s innocence by arguing that Takahashi’s influence was not part of his official duties as a committee director. However, the judge did not agree with this argument. The verdict against Yoshikazu Taniguchi is the twelfth conviction among the 15 people on trial for corruption related to the Tokyo Olympics. Xinhua reported: “The verdict reflects a ‘greedy motive’ in seeking sponsorship contracts for the games and money from those contracts.
