[/floatr]Yomiuri: Komuro faces arrest over fraud
Prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant Monday for music producer Tetsuya Komuro on suspicion that he defrauded a president of a firm in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, of 500 million yen over sales of musical copyrights. The Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office will start questioning Komuro, 49, and several others on Tuesday. The prosecutors suspect Komuro, who has produced numerous hit songs, spent the 500 million yen to pay off his own debts. According to investigative sources, Komuro fraudulently told the president he owned all the copyrights to 806 songs he had composed and written lyrics for, and concluded a provisional contract to sell these rights for 1 billion yen in August 2006. Komuro then received 500 million yen from the president as part of the payment. But Komuro had actually assigned the musical copyrights to musical publishers, including Avex Entertainment Inc. Royalty fees from the 806 songs total about 300 million yen a year, of which Komuro receives 100 million yen from the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, and 100 million yen from the musical publishers. The remaining 100 million yen goes to the musical publishers. Komuro still owes 780 million yen in compensation to his former wife, who has since seized the rights to 100 million yen of Komuro's annual royalties. Komuro reportedly told the company president he would like to conclude the contract but first had to have his former wife's claim to his part of his royalties lifted for which he would need an advance payment of 500 million yen. But the sources say he actually intended to use the money to pay off the debts. A subsequent lawsuit between Komuro and the president over the sale of the copyrights was settled at the Kobe District Court's Amagasaki branch. But as Komuro failed to pay the settlement ordered by the branch, the company president filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutors.
