Kenichi Toyama, the chairman of the Association of Okinawa Prefectural Chambers of Commerce and Industry, held a press conference Oct. 22nd at the Chatan Town Commerce and Industry Hall in Chatan, to explain a recent discovery of an embezzlement of the association funds.

According to sources, a former female employee of the association who’s in her 50’s was found to have embezzled about ¥20 million. The woman was in charge of accounting at the general administration division of the association office, and is suspected of withdrawing money from the association bank accounts on several occasions from fiscal 2007 through 2012.

According to Toyama, the woman had taken out the official seal used for business transactions from a safe, while the chairman was absent. She then used the seal to withdraw money several times from the accounts. The woman has reportedly admitted to the charges. She has explained that she used the money to pay for her living costs, a housing loan and to pay debts to consumer lending firms.

The woman retired from her job with the association in August 2013. However, the embezzlement was not discovered until May this year, when association officials started questioning the woman about unaccounted-for expenditures they had found in the accounts.

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