Japanese police have arrested six people over an alleged cryptocurrency money laundering operation involving approximately 91 million yen ($580,000) in suspected fraud proceeds, with investigators examining transactions connected to around 30 victims across the country.
Summary
- Japanese police arrested six suspects accused of laundering proceeds from investment fraud through cryptocurrency transactions overseas.
- Investigators suspect approximately 91 million yen passed through the operation during February and March 2024.
- Police linked the suspected funds to around 30 fraud victims living across fifteen Japanese prefectures.
- Weather company president Keisuke Tanaka and suspected intermediary Yusuke Shibuya were among those arrested Thursday.
- Police allege the company received approximately 1% commission for converting suspected fraud proceeds into cryptocurrency.
Japan’s Jiji Press reported on October 8 that a joint investigation involving the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency’s cybercrime investigators had resulted in six arrests. Authorities suspect the group used a staffing company’s bank account to receive money stolen through investment scams before converting the funds into cryptocurrency and transferring them to the operators of the fraud.
The arrests concern an initial transaction of 4.4 million yen ($28,000) on February 16, 2024. Police are investigating whether the same operation handled approximately 91 million yen between February and March that year.
Japan arrests six suspects over crypto money laundering
Among those arrested were Keisuke Tanaka, 36, president of the temporary staffing company Weather, and Yusuke Shibuya, 45, a Tokyo resident whose occupation was not disclosed.
According to Japanese authorities cited by Jiji Press, the suspects were arrested on suspicion of violating the Organized Crime Punishment Act by concealing criminal proceeds. The joint investigation involved the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency’s Special Cybercrime Investigation Department.
Weather operates in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. Investigators believe its corporate bank account received money connected to an investment fraud operation that targeted people through social media.
The arrests specifically concern the suspected concealment of 4.4 million yen that entered the company’s bank account on February 16, 2024. Police allege the suspects converted the funds into cryptocurrency through overseas channels, making it harder to identify the original source of the money.
The initial transaction included proceeds from a social media investment scam, according to TBS television’s October 8 report. Japanese broadcaster FNN separately confirmed that police were investigating whether the group exchanged money from fraud victims into cryptocurrency and transferred it back to the organization responsible for the original scams.
Authorities have not released the identities of the remaining four suspects in the reports reviewed.
The six individuals’ responses to the allegations have not been publicly disclosed, and the arrests do not establish that they committed the suspected offenses.
Police trace suspected fraud money through overseas crypto transactions
Investigators believe Weather’s corporate bank account was used as the first destination for funds stolen from victims. After receiving the money, the suspected operators allegedly arranged cryptocurrency conversions through trading channels outside Japan.
FNN described Tanaka as an alleged informal cryptocurrency exchange operator who handled transactions involving suspected criminal proceeds. Japanese reporting refers to this type of intermediary as an aitaiya, a person arranging direct exchanges of money and cryptocurrency between parties. Authorities believe the funds moved from the company’s bank account into cryptocurrency before reaching Shibuya and other intermediaries.
Shibuya allegedly helped return the digital assets to the fraud organization, sometimes on the same day the original bank transfer occurred.
According to TBS, the suspected transfers involved cryptocurrency sent back to the criminal group after the money was received. The reporting describes an arrangement in which conventional bank accounts received the proceeds and cryptocurrency transfers moved the funds through intermediaries.
Some accounts of the investigation identify Bitcoin and USDT as currencies involved in the suspected conversion process.
However, the Japanese television and Jiji Press reports reviewed here confirm cryptocurrency conversions without establishing the precise amounts moved through each asset. No verified wallet addresses, transaction hashes or exchange account identifiers were identified in the published reports. Authorities have not announced whether investigators recovered any of the suspected proceeds or secured cryptocurrency held by the suspects.
Japan investigates $580,000 linked to around 30 victims
While the arrests involve the initial 4.4 million yen transaction, investigators believe the suspected laundering activity extended to a much larger amount.
Police are examining approximately 91 million yen in transfers believed to have passed through the operation during February and March 2024. According to Jiji Press, the money included suspected proceeds from social media investment scams affecting around 30 people in 15 Japanese prefectures.
The larger figure represents the amount under investigation, not a confirmed criminal loss established by a court. Investigators suspect the company received approximately 1% of the money converted into cryptocurrency as compensation for its services. At that rate, converting the full 91 million yen would correspond to around 910,000 yen in fees. Authorities have not confirmed that the suspects personally received that entire calculated amount.
Japanese television network ANN reported that three company executives, including Tanaka, allegedly directed the money laundering arrangements. Police are examining whether the suspected transactions formed part of an operation carried out through Weather’s business structure.
Jiji Press reported that investigators planned to refer the company itself to prosecutors on October 9 on suspicion of concealing criminal proceeds.
A separate confirmation that the corporate referral was completed was not available in the reviewed reporting. The joint investigation had not announced charges covering the entire 91 million yen at the time the arrests became public. No trial date or prosecution timetable for the six suspects had been disclosed.
Japan increases scrutiny of cryptocurrency fraud transfers
The arrests follow heightened attention from Japanese authorities to investment scams and cryptocurrency transfers connected to fraudulent activity.
In August 2026, Japan’s Financial Services Agency requested stronger measures from domestic cryptocurrency exchanges to prevent criminals from quickly withdrawing assets linked to fraud. The agency encouraged exchanges to consider withdrawal delays, improved transaction monitoring and additional checks on transfers involving suspicious activity.
Earlier reporting on Japan’s cryptocurrency withdrawal safeguards examined the regulator’s response to increasing losses from social media investment scams and fraudulent requests for cryptocurrency transfers. Japan’s National Police Agency recorded 9,523 social media investment fraud cases during 2025, with reported losses reaching approximately 128.8 billion yen.
The same reporting identified thousands of romance scam cases involving transfers to fraudulent investment platforms or cryptocurrency wallets. Japanese authorities have investigated criminal groups operating both domestically and from overseas locations, including organizations that use intermediaries to collect payments from victims.
In September 2026, police arrested two suspects in an 81 million yen cryptocurrency scam involving individuals impersonating police officers. Investigators suspected the group had links to a fraud operation based in Cambodia and targeted a woman in her 40s. Police connected the two suspects to additional fraud cases involving approximately 240 million yen in reported losses.
Separately, an international operation coordinated by INTERPOL between January and April 2026 targeted financial fraud and money laundering networks operating across several countries.
The INTERPOL cryptocurrency fraud investigation resulted in 5,811 arrests and identified more than 142,000 victims across participating jurisdictions. INTERPOL reported that investigators used its Global Rapid Intervention of Payments mechanism to block suspicious transfers involving conventional money and cryptocurrency.
For the Weather investigation, Japanese authorities have not disclosed whether the suspected 91 million yen passed through licensed domestic exchanges or which overseas services were involved. Jiji Press reported that the suspects’ pleas had not been made public and that the company was scheduled for referral to prosecutors on October 9.
