Japan to step up its fight against money laundering by scammers

The Cabinet of Sanae Takaichi approved amendments to the criminal proceeds law to strengthen anti–money laundering measures, including allowing police to open dummy online bank accounts to trace scam funds while protecting victims’ deposits
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Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Cabinet approved Friday amendments to the criminal proceeds transfer prevention law to give police stronger ammunition to crack down on money laundering by scammers.The amendment bill, which the Takaichi administration aims to have enacted during the ongoing parliamentary session, allows police to open online bank accounts under fictitious names for scammers to then use so police can track the flow of fraud proceeds while protecting deposited victim money
It stipulates necessary procedures for the account opening and rules for the handling of the deposits.To prevent the use of fraudulent bank accounts, the bill calls for tightening penalties for selling accounts and passbooks, from the current "imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to ¥1 million" to "imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to ¥5 million." Continued account selling for a living is subject to the heavier punishment of "imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to ¥10 million."Tokuryū anonymous, fluid criminal groups and other online scammers use Illegally obtained bank accounts to transfer and receive swindled funds
In 2024, police cracked down on bank account selling in a record 4,362 cases
The high figure prompted a National Police Agency expert panel to demand tougher penalties.The bill also seeks to eliminate what is known as "remittance side jobs" taken by people recruited by criminal groups on social media, by newly outlawing money transfers and transfer requests on a payment basis
Violators will be imprisoned for up to two years or fined up to ¥3 million.

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Sanae Takaichi(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/sanae-takaichi), fraud(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/fraud), banks(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/banks)
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