The internal affairs minister of Japan, Seiko Noda, recently denied having an interest in a cryptocurrency company under investigation – as well as interfering that investigation. The news comes from a report in Asahi Shimbun, a local outlet.
As a Cabinet minister, Noda could be now accused of trying to influence a government investigation. It all started when Noda saw that one of her aides was present at a meeting on January 30th, during which a Financial Services Agency representative explained the agency’s position on regulations (governing funds raised by cryptocurrencies and other topics).
The FSA also warned the unnamed company on January 12nd for engaging with cryptocurrency exchanges – which it was not registered to do. According to the lawsuit, such action violates the payment services law.
The FSA also demanded answers from the company and gave a deadline after which it would report the matter to investigations. Meanwhile, Noda’s office contacted the FSA – wanting to know what the agency was doing with respect to the company.
Noda’s office also said that it would permit a company representative to attend the briefing because the company consulted with her office regarding the issue. However, the name of the person requesting this meeting has been removed from the document (but is believed to be a Noda aide).
According to Noda, the purpose of the meeting was to provide an overall understanding of cryptocurrency exchanges – and said that the briefing did not constitute exerting pressure.
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