WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against two companies and four individuals in Japan associated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest and most prominent Japanese Yakuza syndicate. Two Kobe, Japan-based companies, Yamaki, K.K. and Toyo Shinyo Jitsugyo K.K., along with four individuals, Utao Morio, Chikara Tsuda, Yasuo Takagi, and Katsuaki Mitsuyasu, were designated pursuant to Executive Order 13581, which targets significant transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and their supporters. These efforts are designed to protect the U.S. financial system from the malign influence of TCOs and to expose the companies and individuals who are supporting them or acting on their behalf.
“Treasury is targeting Yakuza-controlled companies to expose the underlying ownership of these seemingly legitimate companies. We are ramping up pressure on this dangerous Japanese crime syndicate and local gang leaders who profit from everything from sexual exploitation, to weapons smuggling, and extortion,” said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “By exposing this broad network of front companies and individuals supporting the Yamaguchi-gumi Yakuza syndicate we intend to disrupt the global financial infrastructure of this illicit transnational criminal organization.”
The Yakuza was identified as a significant TCO in the Annex to Executive Order 13581 (Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations) on July 24, 2011. The Yakuza comprises the major Japanese organized crime syndicates and is engaged in serious criminal activities, including human trafficking, drug smuggling, weapons trafficking, extortion, and white collar crimes. With the help of local crime syndicates in East Asia, the Yakuza is known to profit from nearly all aspects of sexual exploitation: sex trafficking, sex tourism, prostitution, and “mail order” marriages. The U.S. Department of the Treasury is committed to countering networks that are engaged in human trafficking and is a member of the President's Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF).
The Yakuza engages in money laundering, using front companies within legitimate industries, including construction, real estate, and finance, to hide illicit proceeds. The Yakuza acts globally and has relationships with criminal affiliates in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. In the United States, the Yakuza has been known to be involved in money laundering and drug trafficking. To date, OFAC has designated 21 individuals, 5 criminal syndicates, 2 subsidiary gangs, and 2 companies associated with the Yakuza. This action marks the first time Yakuza-owned companies have been targeted by OFAC.
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https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm499