"Fish Bribes" Paid to Russia by Japanese Fisheries

[Mulboyne]

Fish bribes?

Yomiuri: Fish 'bribes' sent through Cyprus banks - Funds' path to Russian pockets traced
Accounts at financial institutions in Cyprus and another country were used to transfer some of the about 500 million yen believed to have been paid to Russian border guards by four Japanese fishery companies, sources familiar with the case said. The remittances in question were part of efforts by the Japanese corporations to ensure the guards looked the other way while the firms fished for walleye pollack in excess of a catch quota set in Japan-Russia fishery talks, officials from the firms were quoted as telling the National Tax Agency. The cash is believed to have eventually been paid to Russian government officials, officials from the Japanese firms said. The latest revelation follows reports that the four fishery companies operating in Russia's exclusive economic zone had provided officials from that country's border security bureau with a total of about 500 million yen in alleged backdoor payments. The latest revelation indicates that the fishery corporations worked to get away with their over-limit fishing through massive payments to border-guard inspectors from Russia...more...

[Mulboyne]

I must try to dig out the original Japanese version of this additional report.

"Yes, we used to pay off the Russians," said the president of Sato Gyogyo, a Miyagi Prefecture-based fishery firm involved in the scandal. The president appeared tense as he discussed the issue...An executive of Wakkanai Kaiyo in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, spoke about the practice in the city in mid-December. "It's shameful we had to give bribes so we could fish," the executive said. "We can't stop, even though the local tax office investigated and made us pay back taxes". According to the executive, the company paid up to 10,000 dollars each trip to a Russian guard. When guards come ashore on Japanese soil, the companies sometimes paid for their dining or hotel rooms. To avoid any trouble during ocean inspections by Russian authorities, the company made sure its boats were well-stocked with U.S. dollars before they set sail. "What if [our fishermen] were arrested for catching just a small amount of unauthorized fish? If money can provide a solution, well...things happen. As long as they say 'give,' we can't say 'no,'" the executive said.