Dentsu’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, has been raided by Tokyo prosecutors following suspicions that the agency group rigged bids for contracts related to Tokyo 2020 Olympic test events.
As part of a widening scandal into corruption during the games in 2020, prosecutors have searched Dentsu offices and the home of a senior official who was part of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, according to Japanese news agency Kyodo.
The news comes amid allegations that a total of 26 bids for the rights to organise test events conducted between 2018 and 2021 were rigged.
Authorities suspect that with the assistance of Dentsu, Tokyo 2020 organisers used a list of event management companies and advertisers to allocate events to successful bidders.
While the Japanese advertising group successfully secured the rights for five events – with the bids reportedly amounting to £475,000 (¥80 million) – the contracts for all of the events to prepare for the Olympics reportedly amounted to £3 million (¥500 million).
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Dentsu admitted to Kyodo that it had been searched and said: “We apologise for causing trouble.
“We will fully cooperate with [the investigation].”
This new probe comes almost a year after a sponsorship bribery scandal also saw Dentsu headquarters raided earlier this year.
To add to the controversy, last month Tokyo 2020 executive board member Haruyuki Takahashi was arrested for a fourth time on suspicion of taking bribes worth up to £322,000 ( ¥54 million) from ad agency ADK Holdings and mascot distributor Sun Arrow.
The Japanese official had previously been arrested three times on suspicion of accepting bribes from three other companies, including the Kadokawa Corporation publishing firm.
