The accounting manager who went missing

This is a story about Takehara, the accounting manager who went missing after embezzling company funds.

Takehara was kind and caring, and well-liked by his subordinates. As the accounting manager, he was a professional in financial management. He was also relied upon and trusted by the president of the company.

However, one day, Takehara suddenly disappeared. What could be the reason?

Embezzling Company Money for Hostess Bars

It turned out that Takehara had been embezzling company funds and spending them at hostess bars.

"Welcome, Mr. Takehara!"

"Thank you..."

"You're a regular, Mr. Manager. They remember your name here."

"Well, this is my favorite spot..."

I had been invited by Takehara to join him at a hostess bar.

"What would you like to drink today?"

"I'll request Sumire-chan. It's your first time, right? You can request a free-choice drink."

"Certainly."

As we took our seats, an incredibly beautiful woman appeared beside Takehara.

"Oh no, Mr. Takehara! If I'd known you were coming, I would've come with you!"

"Ah, sorry, sorry. I was drinking with him earlier, and then I came here."

"I see."

"Mr. Manager, you're more beautiful than any celebrity..."

"Thank you. But when she first started working here, she was like a country bumpkin. It took me two years to turn her into the number one hostess in this bar."

"Really?! That's amazing!"

"Well, I've spent over 3 million JPY on her, so..."

"Th-three million JPY?!?"

"Yes, because of that, Sumire thinks of me as her boyfriend..."

"Wow, that's impressive..."

"It's not a big deal. Money can buy anything in this world..."

(At our company, managers earn around 6 million JPY a year. I wondered how Takehara managed to save such a large sum. Perhaps he invested in stocks?)

I thought he might be investing in stocks, otherwise, 3 million JPY would be a stretch...

I decided to ask him about it.

"Are you investing in something, Manager?"

"No, not particularly."

"Is that so..."

(Strange. Such a large sum of money... Could it be that his parents are wealthy?)

I didn't press the issue further and instead enjoyed the hostess bar.

Rumors from Sonoda in the Accounting Department

About a month later, during lunch in the employee cafeteria, some members of the accounting department were having a peculiar conversation.

"Something's not right. The numbers aren't adding up."

"Maybe it's a mistake by someone."

"But the manager checks everything at the end, so it should be fine, right?"

Sonoda, who joined the company at the same time, was there, so I asked him about it.

"Sonoda, what's going on? Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, the invoices and deposit amounts aren't matching up. We were discussing it."

"I see. Are you sure it's okay?"

"The manager does the final check, so I think it should be fine..."

"If the accounting manager checked it, it's probably fine."

"Yeah..."

We didn't talk about it further that day.

However, a few days later, when I happened to leave work with Sonoda, he told me something intriguing.

"Actually, it's about the manager..."

"Is there something about Takehara?"

"Yeah, the thing is..."

Takehara, the Accounting Manager, Embezzled Funds?!

"What?! Are you saying he embezzled company funds?!"

"Yeah, the numbers haven't been adding up for the past two years. When we looked into it, we found that fake invoices were being made every month, and about 600,000 JPY was being transferred to Takehara's personal account."

"Doesn't that constitute embezzlement?"

"Exactly. That's why today, I reported it directly to the president with the evidence."

"Wow, I can't believe it's Takehara... He was so well-respected."

"Yeah, he was really into one of the hostesses..."

"Did you also get taken to a hostess bar by him?"

"Yeah, about 5 or 6 times. I think her name was Sumire-san, the one he always requested."

"Yes, Sumire-san is a very beautiful woman."

"Yeah, but apparently, she's now banned from the bar."

"Really? Why?"

"Takehara thought of Sumire as his girlfriend, but to her, he was just a good customer. Lately, he'd been getting angry if she replied to his messages late or waited for her in front of the bar, behaving like a stalker. When Sumire consulted the bar manager about it, she ended up getting banned."

"I see..."

"He said she was like a girlfriend to him, but in reality, they didn't even have a physical relationship or kiss."

"So, she was just a good customer to him..."

"Embezzlement is wrong, but I can't help but feel sorry for him now..."

Takehara is Dismissed!

The next day, Takehara was called to the president's office and dismissed. He was supposed to be charged with embezzlement, but the charges were dropped on the condition that he repay 1,500,000 JPY in monthly installments of 500,000 JPY.

Naturally, there was no farewell party, and Takehara silently packed his belongings into a cardboard box and left.

But the problem didn't end there.

The first monthly installment of 500,000 JPY was paid, but the repayments stopped after that.

Despite multiple attempts to contact him, he didn't answer his phone, and when they visited his home, it was empty.

It seemed Takehara had gone into hiding.

The president would likely consult a lawyer, but what would happen next was uncertain.

Perhaps he had fled the country.

Conclusion

According to Article 253 of the Penal Code, the prescribed penalty for "embezzlement" is imprisonment for up to 10 years.

If they had arrested him immediately, the president's kindness wouldn't have been taken advantage of. However, it's understandable that they would rather get the company's money back than have him arrested and lose the funds.

Still, it's disappointing that Takehara continued to spend money on hostess bars.

Many hostesses feign romantic interest and focus on getting male customers to spend large sums of money.

In other words, they're professionals at pseudo-romance!

Well, you could also say that the customers are naive to fall for it...