Marubeni employees' scam hit Lehman

Marubeni employees' scam hit Lehman
Reuters - Sunday, March 30 07:49 am

NEW YORK/TOKYO (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers was fleeced out of more than $355 million in a fraud the U.S. investment bank believes was perpetrated by two employees at Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp., according to a person briefed on the matter.

The fraud may have hit other financial institutions as well, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

If Lehman's arguments are true, the scamsters perpetrated one of the more sophisticated corporate con jobs since Enron set up a fake trading floor to impress analysts. Lehman believes the scam included forged documents and an imposter.

Lehman is trying to recover a loan to a fund headed by Asclepius Ltd -- a now-bankrupt unit of LTT Bio-Pharma Co Lehman had believed the money, supposedly to be used to finance medical leases, was backed by Marubeni.

The bank believes Marubeni is now shirking its obligations to pay back the partnership between Lehman, Marubeni and the fund, the person told Reuters.

Marubeni, which fired the two employees on March 10, said the two employees may have been manipulated by the former president of Asclepius, that Marubeni had not approved the leases and that police are working on the case.

The employees were contractors, spokesman Hirokazu Iwashima said, adding that there was "no involvement by Marubeni as a company."

Lehman plans to sue Marubeni, spokesmen in Tokyo and New York said. They declined to say how much money it had put into the business or elaborate on what exactly the former Marubeni employees did.

"We are confident in our legal claim which we will pursue until we receive repayment from Marubeni," said Matthew Russell, Lehman Brothers head of Corporate Communications, Asia-Pacific, in a statement sent to Reuters.

The person briefed in the matter told Reuters that two former Marubeni employees -- Shingo Yamaura and Takuro Nitahara -- convinced Lehman to help finance what it understood were Marubeni's equipment leases and supply contracts with hospitals. Lehman gave the partnership money in advance to fund initial leases and contracts.

When Lehman sought payment under its deal on Feb 29, 2008, Marubeni said the seals on the contracts had been forged, and refused payment, according to the person briefed on the matter.

Marubeni declined comment on Lehman's statements, and said it could not give information on people no longer with the trading house or comment on ongoing investigations.

Yamaura and Nitahara were not able to be reached for comment.

Before agreeing to fund the venture, Lehman asked to meet the Marubeni general manager involved. The man Lehman employees met was an imposter, Lehman believes, the source said.

Lehman said in a statement on Saturday, "Lehman Brothers Japan Inc. today confirmed that it is working closely with the authorities to seek full recovery of funds it believes to have been fraudulently misappropriated from transactions in which an affiliate provided financing."

LTT Bio-Pharma officials were not available for comment.

The company announced on March 19 that bankruptcy proceedings filed by Asclepius were approved by the Tokyo District Court and also announced that Asclepius was suspected of being involved in illegal dealings.

Kyodo News said Asclepius dismissed its then-president on March 7.

A spokesman at the Metropolitan Police Agency declined to comment on ongoing investigations.

($1=99.12 Yen)

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Lehman alleges Japan investment fraud

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer Sun Mar 30, 7:33 AM ET

TOKYO - Lehman Brothers is accusing a Japanese trading company of perpetrating a massive fraud and plans to sue it for hundreds of millions of dollars, officials at the U.S. investment bank said Sunday.

Lehman is seeking to recoup $350 million in outstanding loans, which it provided to a unit of LTT Bio-Pharma, according to company officials, who spoke condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the case.

The subsidiary, a medical consulting company, filed for bankruptcy March 19, leaving investors stuck with millions in outstanding loans.

Matthew Russell, a senior spokesman for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., said that Japanese trading giant Marubeni Corp. secured the loans and should repay them. The company's Japanese unit, Lehman Brothers Japan Inc., will file a civil suit as early as Monday at the Tokyo District Court, Russell said.

Marubeni said in a statement Saturday that it did not secure the loans, and documents to that effect are fake. It contends that it is also a victim of the alleged fraud and therefore should not have to cover any damages.

LTT Bio-Pharma acknowledged in a statement this month that its unit's bankruptcy was related to "an alleged illegal transaction."

Marubeni fired two of its employees after acknowledging that they may have collaborated with the fund's managers to forge documents, according to the statement. It added that Marubeni has filed a separate criminal complaint against the fund's managers.

"We have nothing to do with the fraudulent acts, and we have no obligation to cover any repayment requests," Marubeni said.

Russell said that his company has been "working closely with the (Japanese) authorities on a fraud it uncovered that was perpetrated by employees at Marubeni ... at the company's offices." He said Lehman is among "several financial institutions and other parties" that have been allegedly defrauded.

Russell said meetings were held at Marubeni's office to discuss the funds before the agreement was struck late last year. He declined to discuss the amount of the loans or details of the transactions, citing ongoing police probe.

"Lehman Brothers is confident that it undertook all the appropriate measures on the transaction," Russell said, adding that his company "is confident in its legal case and fully expects its funds to be repaid."

Officials of LTT-Bio-Pharma, its bankrupt unit and its lawyer were not available for comment Sunday.

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2008 年3 月29 日
各 位
丸紅株式会社

3 月29 日の一連の報道について

本年3 月6 日に、突然、当社と取引関係のない投資事業組合に対して出資していたとい
う外資系証券会社が、当社に対して業務委託手数料の存在を確認してきたことがきっかけ
で、当社として初めて当該案件を知り、直ちに社外の弁護士とともに社内調査を開始しま
した。その後、他の投資事業組合の出資者からも同様の問合わせがありましたが、上記の
社内調査の結果、当社は、これらの投資事業組合等との間で債権・債務は一切なく、また、
提示を受けた当社名義の契約書類などは、すべて偽造されたものであることが判明いたし
ました。また、これらの書類の偽造について、会社として一切関与していないことも同時
に確認致しております。従いまして、これら一連の請求に関して、当社には一切支払い義
務はございません。

投資事業組合等から提示を受けた契約書類等を見ますと、投資事業組合等が当社から受
託したという架空の医療関係の業務について、投資事業組合等がこれを第三者に再委託し
た上で、その対価として数十億円もの巨額の金額をこの第三者に振り込み送金し、数ヶ月
後に、当社の借入レートの数十倍を上回る非現実的な金利相当額を加えて、当社が投資事
業組合等に支払うという契約構成となっています。金額を含めて取引自体が極めて異例な
仕組みとなっており、当社が行う取引ではありえないことが一目瞭然です。

第三者が投資事業組合等から受託した業務を履行しない場合でも、当社が投資事業組合
等に対して業務委託手数料を支払う旨の異例な業務委託契約書が締結され、その締結とほ
ぼ同時に、当社は委託業務の完了を確認し、投資事業組合等に対して約定期日の支払を約
束する旨の「納品請求受領書」なる文書が投資事業組合等に交付されていましたが、上記
のとおり、これらはいずれも偽造されたものであります。一部報道では、当社の「保証書」
が偽造されていたとありますが、当社が投資事業組合等から提示を受けた書類の中には「保
証書」またはこれに類する題名の文書は含まれておりません。

一部の投資事業組合から、当社の稟議書を所持しているとの報告を受けておりますが、
多くの日本企業と同様に、当社において重要な社内文書である稟議書を社外に提供するこ
とはあり得ませんし、また、当該稟議書は当社の書式と全く異なるものでありました。
当社は、医療機器の販売を当社の業務として取り扱っておりますが、これらは、病院等
の医療関係者に対して行っている実体のある取引であり、上記の架空取引とはなんら関連
はございません。

上記の社内調査で、一連の偽造文書の作成に関与していたとみられる株式会社アスクレ
ピオスの元社長らから当社の元嘱託2 名が利用されて、当社の会議室を不正に使用させた
ことなどが判明し、すでに同人らを3 月10 日付けで懲戒解雇しておりますが、同人らのこ
れらの行為はあくまで個人としての行為であり、当社は、会社としてはこれらの行為に一
切関与しておりません。なお、元嘱託2 名はいずれも社内調査では書類の偽造には関与し
ていないと説明しております。

本件につきまして、当社は当社名義の契約書類等が偽造されたことについて被害者の立
場にあり、すでに警察当局に被害申告しております。警察当局の捜査中ですので、これ以
上の詳細は差し控えさせていただきますが、当社は、今後とも引き続き警察当局の捜査に
全面的に協力してまいります。

以 上

≪本件に関する問い合わせ先≫
丸紅株式会社 広報部報道課長 橋本 尚 電話：03-3282-4803