The Tokyo Metropolitan Police recently announced the arrest of a former representative and a former employee of a company operating the high-end watch sharing service 'Tokematch' on suspicion of fraud. According to investigators, the two suspects converted over 100 million yen of the approximately 1.8 billion yen obtained by selling the high-end watches they had been entrusted with into cryptocurrency, and further transferred 800 million yen to accounts related to online casinos. The total amount of damage exceeded 2.8 billion yen, evolving into an organized money laundering (money laundering: fund cleaning) case that abused cryptocurrency.
Fraud schemes abusing online casinos and cryptocurrencies.
It is known that Takemasa Fukuhara, the former representative of the operating company Neoreverse, and Taishi Nakayama, a former employee, started services in January 2021 and began selling luxury watches without the owner's consent just two months later, in March of the same year. According to the investigation, both suspects brought in 2,300 watches distributed across 110 stores in seven prefectures, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka, and cashed out a total of 1.8 billion yen.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police investigation, part of the sale proceeds was used to pay deposits to users, but 800 million yen was deposited into accounts related to online casinos, and over 100 million yen was used for the purchase of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are highly anonymous and facilitate cross-border movement of funds, leading to an increase in their use as a means of money laundering.
The Financial Services Agency has mandated strict identity verification for cryptocurrency exchanges, and due to the strengthening of monitoring systems by the agency, the overseas cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced its withdrawal from the Japanese market starting in 2026.
Fukuhara left for Dubai in January 2024, simultaneously announcing the dissolution of the company, and had been on the run for more than a year and a half. He applied for a passport three months before the dissolution announcement, suggesting he was preparing for a planned escape. In April of the same year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an order for passport return, and he was internationally wanted, but was apprehended at Narita Airport on the 26th.
Challenges in strengthening measures against money laundering.
The Tokematch incident has highlighted once again that cryptocurrencies can become a breeding ground for money laundering. The Financial Action Task Force is urging countries to improve the transparency of cryptocurrency transactions, but tracking fund movements through decentralized exchanges and overseas exchanges remains difficult.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police plans to conduct detailed investigations into the cash conversion routes for cryptocurrencies and the final flow of funds. Investigators have indicated that part of the funds may have moved through overseas cryptocurrency exchanges, and international cooperation is essential. Reports of damages have been accepted in 45 prefectures, with approximately 650 victims nationwide and the number of affected items expected to reach about 1,700.
In response to this incident, financial authorities are expected to consider further strengthening measures against money laundering in cryptocurrency transactions. In particular, monitoring systems for high-value transactions and establishing frameworks for information sharing between cryptocurrency exchanges and financial institutions are urgently needed. The Tokematch incident has become a symbolic case demonstrating the risk of cryptocurrencies being misused as a means to conceal criminal proceeds, and pressure for regulatory strengthening across the industry is expected to increase.