I will certainly move the world.” The Enten controversy involved Kazutsugi Nami, the chairman of Tokyo bedding supplier Ladies & Gentlemen (L&G), arrested by Japanese police on 5 February 2009.
Some sources put the total amount of the money involved as high as 226 billion yen, which would make it, if proven, to be the biggest investment fraud in Japanese history since Toyota Shoji, an investment group, defrauded investors of 202.5 billion yen in the late '80s.
[4] In order to gain credibility and popularity, Nami's company used famous enka singers such as Takashi Hosokawa in their advertisements.
[5] Ladies and Gentlemen, set up in 1987, originally sold futons and health food,[6] and began accepting investment money in 2001.
[1] A 65-year-old woman who lost 30 million yen (about US$300,000) saved over four decades was quoted as saying: "I thought the company was fine as it was in business for a long time".
Enten was a virtual currency that Nami expected to become legal tender in the post-recession by which time he will also have become "world famous.
"[1] "Enten" were generated through his customers' mobile phones and could be used to purchase items online, including vegetables, futons, clothing, and jewelry.
[3] Nami was drinking beer when police, followed by reporters, arrested him in a restaurant where he was eating his breakfast close to his Tokyo office at 5:30 a.m. local time on 4 February 2009.