A raid by Tokyo Metropolitan Police on an illegal casino in the Shibuya district of Tokyo has revealed some shady gambling operations that allegedly has ties to the Ghanian Embassy in Japan.
According to reports from the Japanese media, local authorities in Tokyo raided an illegal casino running on property belonging to the Embassy of Ghana last March 5, 2014. Even more distressing was the admission of some of those people who were busted during the raid admitted to having ties with the embassy itself, as well as the discovery that the property owned by the Embassy of Ghana had a rental contract with the operators of the illegal casino.
That contract looks like its the most damning piece of evidence against the Embassy of Ghana, largely because a rental contract existed between the two parties, written in September 2012 that required the operator to make monthly payments of 500,000 yen, or just a shade under $5,000. The document was also reported to include the name of Dr. William George Mensah Brandful, Ghana’s former ambassador to Japan and was signed at the ambassador’s official residence with accompanying diplomatic identification.
Once Brandful’s term in Japan ended and his successor, current ambassador Edmond Kofi Agbenutse Deh, took over, the name on the contract was also alleged to have been changed to reflect the change in leadership within the embassy.
Ghanaian newspaper the Daily Guide also reported that during the raid, police officers from the Tokyo Metropolita Police arrested a handful of individuals running the illegal casino, including its manager, Hiroyuki Yamanoi, as well as nine other employees and two customers playing in the premises.
Police officials also confiscated a pair of baccarat tables and 12 million yen in cash, or about $118,000 based on current exchange rates. The police also hinted that in the 17 months the casino has been in operation, it has collected over 200 million yen in revenues, or close to $2 million.
