Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 116 Recovering the 800 Million Shortfall [Third Update, Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Late at night, Mitsubishi Bank Osaka branch.

The small conference room on the third floor.

The city outside the window had long since fallen into darkness, with only a few scattered neon lights visible along the distant Midosuji Street.

But no one in the room felt that it was already late at night.

Kajiwara Masazō was forced into a chair, his face ashen.

His once decent suit was now wrinkled beyond recognition, and he looked as if his bones had been removed, leaving only a shell of a man barely able to sit.

The black handbag had been opened, and its contents were taken out one by one and neatly laid out on the table.

The documents included a list of anonymous accounts from a Swiss bank, a property agreement under a nominee's name, gold custody certificates, insurance cancellation and refund documents, several trust contracts, and several booklets filled with amounts and dates.

Kiryu Yaya stood in the corner, his gaze sweeping across the table.

Almost all the hidden assets seen in "The Banker's Eye" are included.

Masakazu Yamada stood in front of the table, his hands resting on the edge, and said in a low voice, "President Kajiwara, things have come to this point, so stop pretending."

He paused slightly, his gaze falling on the documents.

"Explain the whole story of where these things came from, in detail."

37

Kajiwara Masazō's lips turned pale, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Compared to the shameless president in the factory office during the day who was a complete scoundrel who was always saying "I have no money anyway," he was like a completely different person now.

The fierceness, perfunctoriness, and wishful thinking in his eyes vanished completely the moment the briefcase was opened.

After a full half minute of silence, Kajiwara Masazō finally lowered his head: "—I'll talk."

Chihaya Yuri, who was standing next to her, immediately opened the record sheet, and the pen landed on the paper, making a soft but clear sound.

Kajiwara Masazō swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Abeno's house—is in Matsushita Saeko's name. I paid for the house and the renovations. In name—it was a loan to her, 130 million yen."

Chihaya Yuri didn't even look up: "When was the loan agreement made?"

"End of Showa 63 (1944) —"

"What is the actual payment path for the loan?"

"First, transfer the money from Higashi-Osaka Seiko's account to an outside construction shop, then—then split it into several smaller payments and transfer it over."

The pen scratches as it records.

"continue."

"Those two apartments in Kobe's Higashina district are registered under the name of my wife's brother's friend. On the surface, it's said to be their investment, but in reality, the rent money keeps going back to me."

"The land in Ji Mian is held on my cousin's behalf."

"The land for the Tsukigaku parking lot in Higashi-Osaka is registered under my sister's name, and I collect the rent from it."

Chihaya Yuri didn't give him a chance to catch his breath, immediately pressing, "Which account does the rent go into?"

"Does the nominee shareholder know that they are merely holding the shares on behalf of someone else?"

Who pays the fixed asset tax?

"Which accounts did the loan for the Abeno Residence go through?"

Her questions were incisive and contained almost no unnecessary words.

Kajiwara Masazō was like a fish whose scales had been stripped off, only able to slowly reveal the truth bit by bit.

"What about the gold?"

Masakazu Yamada coldly interjected.

Kajiwara Masazō closed his eyes briefly, as if resigned to his fate: "Thirty-six kilograms in a storage room in the North District."

"Where is the key to the vault?"

"Under the inner wooden panel of a drawer in my study."

Who opened the Swiss account?

"I didn't go myself; it was done through an intermediary. The code, the number, and the contact person are all on that form."

1

Kiryu Yaya stood behind, listening quietly, but his brows were slightly furrowed.

Even at this point, Kajiwara Masazō still clung to one thing and refused to say it.

Ogaki Kiyomasa.

He didn't mention that name at all.

When Yamada Masakazu asked who designed these asset allocations, nominee arrangements, offshore accounts, and physical gold concealment methods for him, Kajiwara Shozo simply lowered his head and gave a vague answer: "I—I consulted some people before and inquired about some asset management methods."

Masakazu Yamada frowned.

He could tell, of course, that this wasn't the truth.

A level of concealment like this could never be accomplished simply by asking around.

Using real estate under someone else's name, trust contracts, insurance returns, anonymous Swiss accounts, and physical gold, this is a very sophisticated set of solutions to evade recovery.

There must be someone behind this.

They are people who understand bank guarantee procedures.

However, this matter is no longer important at the moment.

A bank isn't a police department; it doesn't need to hunt down the criminals behind the scenes. As long as it can fill this 800 million yen hole, Masakazu Yamada will be content.

"it is good."

Suppressing the urge to dig deeper, Masakazu Yamada said in a deep voice, "Write down everything you know in your written statement first."

Half an hour later, a completed written confession was placed in front of Kajiwara Masazō.

The paper was still slightly warm from being transcribed.

Then, Kajiwara Shozo picked up a pen and carefully signed his name on the last page, then pressed his seal on it.

The moment the red seal touched the paper, Masakazu Yamada let out a long breath.

He had been holding back this anger for far too long.

Since the Miyazawa case, the entire financing review department has been under constant pressure.

Now, I can finally relax.

Once the signatures were completed, the financing review team immediately sprang into action.

Chihaya Yuri went to contact the General Affairs Department to prepare the sealing bags and nighttime security records; Hashimoto Yusuke immediately summoned the duty officer from the Debt Management Department.

Meanwhile, Masakazu Yamada picked up the phone and called Department Head Ogaki first.

The phone rang a few times before being answered.

"Minister Ogaki, it's me, Yamada."

"—Kajiwara Masazo has spoken. We've caught a lead on his hidden assets. The Abeno residence, the apartment under a false name..."

The gold and overseas accounts are all there.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

Then, Kiyomasa Ogaki's voice slowly came through: "I see—"

"Did he mention anything else?"

Masakazu Yamada was taken aback.

"Anything else?"

"I mean, besides the details of the assets, were any other related persons or arrangements mentioned?"

Masakazu Yamada assumed the minister was confirming the scope of risks and replied, "Not for now; the main focus is on asset disclosure."

There was another pause on the other end of the phone.

Then, Kiyomasa Ogaki seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, his tone returning to normal: "Alright. Then you should take the written statements, asset lists, and consent documents for arbitrary disposal into your hands."

"The passwords for overseas accounts should be sealed separately first, so that the national tax authorities don't get there first."

"Report this to the branch manager as soon as possible."

"clear."

The phone hangs up.

Masakazu Yamada quickly dialed the home number of branch manager Takahiro Matsumoto.

This time, as soon as the call was answered, he gave a brief and concise report of the situation as quickly as possible.

"Kajiwara Masazō has admitted his guilt."

"7

"Hidden assets have been identified."

"Abeno, Kobe, Minoo, Higashi-Osaka parking lots, gold, overseas accounts—all are verifiable."

"The 800 million shortfall is expected to be recovered."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Matsumoto Takahiro's steady voice: "Have you confirmed that it's his signature and his seal?"

"Yes. Section Chief Chihaya and Kiryu are both present, and the Debt Management Division can also take over."

As Yamada Masakazu finished speaking, he finally felt a slight relief in his chest.

"very good."

The branch manager of Matsumoto spoke in the same tone, but noticeably faster.

"Form a written report overnight and submit it to our store first thing tomorrow morning."

"The case must be classified as a case of malicious false declaration and malicious concealment of assets by the borrower. We cannot allow our branch to be easily blamed on the financing review department for an early incident."

"I'll handle things with the IRS. Your task tonight is to prepare the materials thoroughly."

Masakazu Yamada nodded: "Understood!"

>