A former aide to senior Liberal Democratic Party member Koichi Kato received some 50 million yen in cash in 1999 as a commission for brokering a golf course development project in Chiba Prefecture, informed sources said Thursday.
The commission was allegedly paid by the former president of major confectioner Tohato Co.
The former secretary, Saburo Sato, 61, is suspected of evading taxes on money he received for brokering public works projects. He quit as Kato's secretary in January, after the allegations surfaced.