OSAKA -- Four men were arrested Friday on suspicion of defrauding trading house giant Marubeni Corp. out of about 280 million yen in a deal to purchase portable toilets, Osaka prosecutors said.
The four were identified as Masayuki Nakaya, 61, former president of Hiroko, a failed portable toilet manufacturer based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture; former executive Tomohiro Kawaguchi, 36; former executive Hiromitsu Murata, 41; and former employee Hideyuki Yoshida, 37.
The four have denied committing any wrongdoing, the prosecutors said.
Prosecutors searched Nakaya's private residence and several other locations earlier in the day in connection with the case.
According to investigative sources, Hiroko signed a contract with Marubeni in July 1999 to sell 1,500 portable toilets and defrauded the Osaka-based trading firm out of five promissory notes totaling 280 million yen.