KISAKI prosecuted for 46-million-yen tax evasion
I. Don't. Fucking. Believe. This.
I'm so pissed, disappointed, crushed right now. GOD DAMMIT!
Tax-fucking-evasion?! Transferring earnings from music sales and lives into his own family account?
What the bloodiest of bloody hells was the man thinking?! How will this affect UNDER CODE and Phantasmagoria's future? He's probably slammed by both criminal and civil suits, and I don't even know by how many counts. He better hire a good lawyer (assuming he can also appeal, how the heck does it work in Japan anyway?) or this incident might screw over a lot of people. I hope the penalties don't bankrupt him. Compensatory damages (46 mil. yen), punitive damages (64 mil. yen), attorney fees (whatever that is), maybe even prison time and/or fines (if the criminal suit also applies), what a fun picnic.
PS: I'm not using the term "suit" correctly in the legal sense, but I don't think anyone would throw a fit over it.
Translation of the article by Elec can be found here.
Another translation summary can be found at jrocknyc.
Edit 2:
Upon another round of reading this article, it appears that this is Wakayama District v. KISAKI, instead of Wakayama District v. UNDER CODE PRODUCTION or Wakayama District v. Phantasmagoria. So hopefully, neither the label or the band will be affected (maybe except in reputation).
Edit 3:
Something's still nagging at me, because it looks like what KISAKI had done is also embezzlement. It'll be freaking ironic if UNDER CODE sues KISAKI for fraud, that is... assuming KISAKI isn't on the company's board of directors or he gets out-voted at the board meeting. If I were in UNDER CODE board's position and a bitch to boot, sueing KISAKI would be exactly what I plan to do.
Wow... got some awesome business sense there, man!
If this had happened in the US there'd be the possibility of prison time on top of all the fines (Hello, Wesley Snipes!)... I figure it'll be a weird sort of blessing if Kisaki can just pay all of it back and walk away from it.
Makes you wonder if the two guys leaving Phantasmagoria knew it was coming...
Posted by: Two eLs | 12/21/2006 at 06:38 PM
That's why I'm wondering if he's also prosecuted under criminal law. If he's found guilty, prison time is entirely possible.
However, by that article, it looks like this is only a civil suit. Assuming he can actually pay the 100 million yen in damages and the attorney fee, he'll be able to walk away from it all. If not... well, guess he'll have to file bankruptcy.
Posted by: Aural Candy | 12/21/2006 at 06:46 PM
Oh, as for Iori and Matoi. No clue. O_o Can you blame them for leaving if it's indeed because of this?
Posted by: Aural Candy | 12/21/2006 at 07:55 PM
Considering he avoided $400,000 with of taxes - I'm guess he has well over the less that $1,000,000 this is going to cost [minus legal fees].
Posted by: Kazuma | 12/21/2006 at 08:06 PM
Yeah maybe, but it's still worrisome. *shakes head at KISAKI's blunder*
Posted by: Aural Candy | 12/21/2006 at 08:38 PM
"What the bloodiest of bloody hells was the man thinking?!"
To quote the article: "Matsuura is said to have wanted to reserve funds for publicity and advertising in order to advance his business in television and the media." So at least he intended to put it back into Undercode.
Yeah, the tax evasion arrest was the straw that broke this camel's back. I was a wreck for days, a disaster on Christmas. I take the music I listen to and the goings-on of the people involved in making it VERY seriously. That news came just days after the announcement that Iori and Matoi are leaving the band after their February 23rd gig at Shibuya AX. I was devastated by this initial news, then to hear about Kisaki, easily my favorite member of the band and idol/mentor as a bassist and band leader, being arrested and why...I can only pray that nothing negative happens to the other Undercode bands because of this (I am now a bit relieved that 12012 are leaving the label). Yet through it all, my fierce loyalty to Kisaki has not diminished in the slightest.
Posted by: VizKei | 01/05/2007 at 05:32 AM
KISAKI never was arrested. All he had to do was pay up the 100 million yen he owes in taxes and compensation to be let off the hook. He had already said in his blog that he'd take full responsibility for the blunder and assured everyone that UNDER CODE won't be affected. So, don't worry too much about the tax evasion incident.
Posted by: Aural Candy | 01/05/2007 at 12:49 PM
[this is good] I can ask you?
Posted by: Gavin Ash | 06/14/2010 at 10:46 PM