Japanese banks get tougher on gangster money

Team-up with police to share information.

The Japanese Bankers Association said it will partner with the National Police Agency to share information on crime syndicates such as the yakuza so that gangsters are unable to draw funds from about 200 domestic and foreign banks.

Authorities and banks in Japan have struggled for years with the issue of how to deal with gangsters and yakuza members who have a habit of making one or two installments to avoid prosecution for non-payment, then withholding the balance.

The latest attempt to curb gangster money was triggered by the Financial Services Agency, which chided Mizuho for continuing to lend to "antisocial forces," or gangsters, for two years after the lending was first detected. Mizuho said that transactions came to US$2 million, mostly for car loans.

JBA chairman Takeshi Kunibe said the Mizuho scandal was "very regrettable.”

 "The banking industry as a whole is trying to break connections with antisocial forces. It is very important to restore trust."

The Japan Securities Dealers Association earlier this year began joint-screening prospective clients with a police database listing thousands of yakuza-affiliated individuals. The association represents some 500 brokers and intermediaries.