Bandai Employees Stole Money from Gundam’s Construction
Former Bandai employees were arrested for stealing 200 million yen (2.4 million CAD) between July 2013 and November 2016. The ex-employees, 44-year-old Takashi Udatsu and 66-year-old Takao Kurokawa, are accused of forging documents to inflate the budget of Tokyo’s giant Gundam statue. Although Udatsu has confessed, Kurokawa reportedly said he has nothing to do with the crimes.
At one point, the former employees made Bandai pay 20 million yen for various parts of the Gundam exhibit, such as LED lighting. However, the actual cost was about 10 million yen.
Visit #Tokyo: Unicorn Gundam Statue https://t.co/VSycY0E2T8 #familytravel pic.twitter.com/Cz1gtXIF5I
— Hawaii Mom Travels (@hawaiimomtravel) January 17, 2019
The embezzled funds were discovered during an internal investigation that took place in October, 2017. Although Utazu was reportedly terminated immediately, it’s still unclear when Kurokawa was let go.
“It is regrettable that such a situation occurred,” a Bandai representative said. “We will strive to prevent a recurrence.”
The statute is based on Mobile Suit Gundam UC, which is also known as Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. The series is based on novels of the same name and takes place in Universal Century 0096, three years following Char’Counterattackck. The series has been met with fairly positive reception, although not as much as the franchise’s other series.