The Tokyo Metropolitan Police have re-arrested Takeyuki Fukuhara, the 44-year-old former representative of the defunct luxury watch-sharing service Tokematch. He, along with another individual, faces charges of embezzling premium watches valued at approximately 12.1 million yen ($121,000) between June 2023 and January 2024. Both suspects denied the allegations, and concerns have grown regarding their potential flight from justice, given Fukuhara’s prior exit to Dubai shortly before the company announced its disbandment in January 2024.

Upon his return to Japan last December, Fukuhara was found to be in possession of a passport from Vanuatu, suggesting he may have been preparing for an overseas escape. Police have also disclosed that Fukuhara attempted to verify the process for acquiring Dominican nationality via international calls prior to his trip to the UAE several months earlier. This revelation indicates a possibly premeditated plan to avoid accountability for his actions related to the embezzlement charges.

Originally detained in December under charges of fraud, Fukuhara and his accomplice were subsequently indicted in January for embezzlement after the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office reviewed the evidence and found this charge more fitting. This development highlights ongoing issues of corporate crime in Japan and raises questions about regulatory oversight in increasingly sophisticated financial crimes involving luxury goods.