Bandai Namco has revealed that a former employee of one of its subsidiaries allegedly embezzled approximately 500 million yen (about $3.38 million USD) between 2021 and 2023. This discovery led to the employee`s arrest and a temporary reduction in salary for several high-ranking officials within the affected subsidiary.
Although the individual was arrested in January 2024 and Bandai Namco has initiated both civil and criminal proceedings, the company only recently made the incident public via a press release detailing the alleged wrongdoing and its corrective measures.
The fraudulent activity reportedly took place at Bandai Logipal, Bandai Namco`s Hong Kong-based subsidiary, and came to light during an internal audit. Following the former employee`s apprehension, Bandai Logipal implemented disciplinary measures against its leadership. Starting April 2024, four officers and three full-time directors faced a 30% pay cut for three months, while two other full-time directors received a 15% reduction for the same duration.
Bandai Namco issued a statement expressing profound regret, saying, “Our group takes the occurrence of this incident very seriously and we sincerely and deeply apologize to all our stakeholders for their concerns and the inconvenience caused by such incident.” The company affirmed its commitment to cooperating fully with law enforcement and working collectively to prevent future occurrences.
To mitigate the risk of similar incidents, the Japanese entertainment conglomerate plans to establish a new department dedicated to overseeing the management of its international subsidiaries. The company anticipates that the financial impact of this incident on its fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, will be negligible.
Separately, Sony recently announced a significant investment of $463 million in Bandai Namco, forming a “strategic partnership” that will give Sony approximately 2.5% ownership. While both entities are prominent in the video game industry, their joint statement emphasized a focus on expanding the global fan base for intellectual properties like anime and manga, and enhancing engagement, especially within the rapidly growing anime sector.