A woman wanted by local police in southern Japan for operating an illegal investment scheme was arrested Wednesday after being extradited from Thailand.
Setsuko Yamabe, 62, a native of Kumamoto Prefecture, was placed under arrest by Kumamoto Prefectural Police shortly before arrival by plane at Haneda airport in Tokyo.
She had been arrested by Thai immigration police on March 30 at a gas station in the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani.
The Kumamoto police had earlier issued a warrant for Yamabe's arrest for violating the Investment Deposit and Interest Rate Law.
She is alleged to have illegally invested almost 70 million yen collected from a Japanese man and others by guaranteeing the principal and promising high returns.
Using the same method, she allegedly amassed more than 700 million yen from dozens of other people between 2014 and 2016, according to police. Some victims who lost their money suffered depression and one committed suicide.
Yamabe had entered Thailand 15 times in the past several years, most recently in January as a tourist, and recently applied for an extended stay until April 19.
A team of Kumamoto police officers visited the Thai Immigration Bureau headquarters in Bangkok on Tuesday morning and handed investigators there a letter of appreciation.
