最高検さいこうけん司法しほう取引とりひき運用うんよう拡大かくだいし10月じゅうがつから特殊とくしゅ詐欺さぎ捜査そうさに適用てきよう方針ほうしん

Regarding plea bargaining, in which criminal penalties are reduced in exchange for suspects or defendants cooperating with investigations, it has been learned from interviews with related parties that the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office has decided to expand its application from October to include investigations into special fraud cases, and has notified public prosecutors offices nationwide of this policy.

While corroborating statements obtained through plea bargaining with objective evidence, the challenge will be whether authorities can use this to crack down on the ringleaders of special fraud schemes.

Judicial plea bargaining is a system introduced in 2018, in which suspects or defendants cooperate in investigations regarding crimes committed by accomplices or other individuals, and in return, prosecutors may refrain from indicting them or seek lighter sentences.

Legally, it can be applied to economic crimes such as bribery and fraud, but so far its use has been limited, with fewer than ten cases in seven years, mostly in unique cases investigated by the special investigation unit.

Amidst this situation, it has been learned from interviews with those involved that the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office has officially decided to expand its operations beyond previous practices and, starting in October, will apply plea bargaining to investigations of special fraud cases as needed, notifying public prosecutors offices nationwide.

The amount of damage caused by special fraud reached a record high of 71.8 billion yen last year, and it is believed that the aim is to conduct plea bargaining with apprehended members and others in order to obtain records and statements on smartphones.

On the other hand, regarding plea bargaining, there are concerns about the risk of innocent people being implicated as accomplices, so the challenge is whether authorities can use objective evidence to support the obtained statements and thereby apprehend the ringleaders.

Expert: “Effective investigative methods—objective evidence and the process of agreement are key points.” Regarding the prosecutions policy to expand the use of plea bargaining in investigations of special fraud, Professor Tomoyuki Mizuno, a former criminal judge and professor at Hosei University Law School, said, In special fraud cases, it is often the lower-level perpetrators, such as money mules and couriers, who are caught. Given the nature of these crimes, where it is difficult to reach the higher-ups, it is understandable as an effective investigative method.

Even if someone was using a communication app where exchanges disappear quickly, I think it would be extremely effective if we could utilize the system to obtain and analyze the communication history and find it.

On the other hand, since it is also possible to involve unrelated people or shift the blame for ones own wrongdoing onto others, it is necessary to pay attention to how to prevent such risks.

If the credibility of statements made by cooperating suspects and others is denied and acquittals continue, people will start to question what it was all for. Therefore, the key points will be whether there is objective supporting evidence and whether the process of reaching a plea bargain agreement is something that can be properly accepted.