The Tokyo District Court sentenced a former managing director of the bankrupt Yamaichi Securities Co. to a suspended 10-month prison term Thursday for giving undue profits to "sokaiya" corporate extortionist Ryuichi Koike and compensating the racketeer for stock losses.
The court found Hidekuni Iyama, 60, guilty of violating the Commercial Code and the Securities Transactions Law.
In the Yamaichi case, nine people on the Yamaichi side were indicted and seven have now been found guilty. The two others remain on trial.
Iyama has 10 days to file an appeal against Thursday's decision.
The two other defendants — Tsuguo Yukihira, 67, former chairman of Yamaichi, and Atsuo Miki, ex-president of the brokerage — are still on trial, charged with window-dressing and other violations.
According to the court, Iyama, in conspiracy with Miki and other Yamaichi executives, provided Koike, 56, with 170 million yen between 1994 and 1995 in return for his cooperation in managing general shareholders' meetings. Iyama also unlawfully compensated Showa Lease Co. for its stock losses, paying the company about 317 million yen, the court said.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.