Japanese prosecutors on Wednesday searched the Tokyo office of Yoshitaka Ikeda, a House of Representatives lawmaker belonging to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's largest faction, amid a political fundraising scandal.
The faction, formerly led by slain Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is alleged to have failed to declare hundreds of millions of yen in revenue from its fundraisin parties in political funding reports and created slush funds.
Among members of the faction, Ikeda is suspected of having received more than 40 million yen ($280,000) over five years through 2022, for which the statute of limitations has not expired under the political funds control law, sources close to the matter said.
The figure is significantly higher than the amounts allegedly received by other lawmakers of the Abe faction, the sources added.
The prosecutors have already searched the office of the faction, called Seiwaken or the Seiwa policy study group, in connection with the scandal and questioned its key members, including former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, on a voluntary basis, the sources said.
The scandal was ignited by a criminal complaint alleging that five of the LDP's factions, including one recently led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, had underreported fundraising party revenues.
The prosecutors suspect that the Abe faction returned a portion of party revenues raised by its members from ticket sales, according to the sources. The amount is believed to have totaled around 500 million yen over five years through 2022.
The sources added that the prosecutors are working to build a case against the faction's accountant, who admitted to not reporting the income in political funds statements when questioned on a voluntary basis.
The political funds control law imposes an obligation on the accountants of political organizations to submit financial reports. Penalties for violating the law include imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 1 million yen.
Lawmakers could face criminal charges if they are suspected of having colluded with the accountant, the sources said.
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