Japanese advertising group Dentsu and five other companies has been indicted over allegations of bid-rigging the contracts for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The news comes after regulators filed criminal complaints against the companies and seven unnamed individuals.
According to the BBC, months of investigations have taken place, looking into alleged corruption in the sponsorship of Olympics and Paralympics events.
In November, Dentsu’s headquarters in Tokyo, were raided by Tokyo prosecutors following suspicions that the agency group rigged bids for contracts. As part of a widening scandal into corruption during the games in 2020, prosecutors searched Dentsu offices and the home of a senior official who was part of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee.
Allegations were made that a total of 26 bids for the rights to organise test events conducted between 2018 and 2021 were rigged. Authorities suspected 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).
Reacting to the news, on Tuesday, Dentsu said in a statement that it “takes the situation seriously and offers its sincere apologies to its business partners, shareholders, and all other relevant parties for any inconvenience or concern this may cause.”
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According to the BBC, the agency group also said that an ex-employee of Dentsu had been indicted “for an alleged violation of the Antimonopoly Act in connection to the bidding for the test events of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
Hakuhodo DY Holdings, another of the indicted firms, said an employee of its company Hakuhodo DY Media Partners had been “indicted by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office based on charges brought by the commission.”
“We also take this situation very seriously. The entire Hakuhodo DY group is committed to thorough compliance and to regaining the trust of society,” it added.
This announcement was made after the Japan Fair Trade Commission (FTC) filed complaints against Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Holdings and four other creative agencies.
“We determined that this is a malicious and serious case that will have a broad impact on people’s lives,” FTC investigator Goh Okumura, said.
