National Police Agency disciplinary dismissal of former head of cyber investigation division; documents will be sent to prosecutors on suspicion of misappropriating 1.74 million yen in investigation funds
Approximately 1.74 million yen was misappropriated through forged receipts and used for extramarital affairs, etc.
Quick Look
- On the 10th, the National Police Agency suspended Superintendent Kou Igai, the former head of the Cyber Investigation Division, for misappropriating approximately 1.74 million yen in investigation costs.
- On the same day, the Metropolitan Police Department sent documents to prosecutors on suspicion of fraud and breach of trust.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
A case involving the misappropriation of investigation funds by the former head of the National Police Agency's Cyber Investigation Division.
On the 10th, the National Police Agency ordered the former head of the agency's cyber investigation division, Superintendent Kou Igai (55), a member of the Chief's Secretariat, to be disciplined and dismissed for misappropriating approximately 1.74 million yen in investigation costs by forging receipts and other means. On the same day, the Metropolitan Police Department referred the former section chief to prosecutors on suspicion of fraud and breach of trust. The former manager admitted to embezzling the charges and paid the full amount.
Former Chief Igai joined the agency in 1995 as a career engineer. In June 2022, he was dispatched from the National Police Agency's Cyber Police Bureau to the European Police Organization (Europol) as a liaison officer, and from September 2025 to June of this year, he served as the head of the Cyber Investigation Division.
The suspect was accused of fraudulently receiving a total of approximately 900,000 yen on 13 occasions between February 2013 and July 2025, by inflating the amounts on receipts for purchasing sake and other items given to people working with overseas authorities as compensation, and by falsifying dates and reusing receipts.
According to the National Police Agency, he also defrauded a total of approximately 830,000 yen by disguising the cost of a private meal with his subordinates as the cost of contacting investigators, and fraudulently recording the cost of an exchange meeting with an overseas organization.
He created the fake receipts on his official computer while on business trips, and used the embezzled money to pay for entertainment and entertainment expenses with a female acquaintance with whom he was having an affair. He reportedly told investigators, ``I wanted free money.I tried forgery, and I got it.'' The incident was discovered when the liaison's successor noticed suspicious accounting procedures.
Open Questions
- What is the full scope of the misappropriation and what are the deficiencies in the organizational checking system?
