Sapporo Man Defrauded of ¥122 Mil. by Men Claiming to Represent Fukushima Police

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:08 JST, December 13, 2025

SAPPORO — A man in his 50s in Sapporo was defrauded of a total of ¥122 million by men claiming to be police officers and others, Hokkaido prefectural police announced Friday.

According to police, the man received telephone calls from men impersonating Fukushima prefectural police officers on Nov. 26. The culprits told him, “Your account at a financial institution has been used for money laundering. We’ll confiscate your assets instead of detaining you.” Following their instructions, the man transferred about ¥80 million to a designated account.

On Wednesday, he traveled to Tokyo, purchased gold bars worth ¥42 million and left them next to a vending machine as instructed. The gold bars were taken by someone.

The man became aware that he had fallen victim to scam on Thursday after losing contact with them.