Kazutsugi Namiand other executives of L&G, which made bedding and healthcare products, are suspected by authorities of running a pyramid scheme that promised investors annual returns of 36 per cent in interest and to double their capital after three years.
Mr Nami, speaking to reporters, denied any wrongdoing, saying: “It was not a fraud” and that he was “a victim of the police investigation”.
The suspected fraud would rank among the biggest of a growing number of such scams, the largest being the alleged $50bn Ponzi scheme operated by Bernie Madoff in the US, and which have come to lightafter turmoil in financial markets and as the global economic downturn intensifies.