Ambassador Recalled Over Tokyo Gambling Scandal

Edmund Kofi Agbenutse Deh
There are strong indications that Ghana may have recalled its Ambassador to Japan, Edmund Kofi Agbenutse Deh, over the gambling scandal in a casino within a property in Tokyo's Shibuya entertainment area belonging to the Ghana Embassy there.

Last week, Japanese media reported statements from Tokyo's Metropolitan Police saying they raided the casino on a tip-off that the casino, run by one Hiroyuki Yamanoi, 35, was providing illegal baccarat gambling to unsuspecting patrons.

The incident has sparked a diplomatic disgrace for Ghana as Japanese authorities mount an investigation that will involve waiving the Ghanaian envoy's diplomatic immunity to pave way for a full scale investigation.

Ghana's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Thomas Kwesi Quartey, on Monday stated that the ambassador had been invited home for 'consultation.' DAILY GUIDE gathered from sources that rather than allowing its envoy's immunity to be revoked, Ghana opted to recall the ambassador and conduct its own investigations into the matter.

Ambassador Deh is expected in the country by Monday, although this paper has been unable to confirm the date of his arrival.

'We need to know what went on,” the Deputy Minister was quoted as saying. He indicated that the Ghana government was going to investigate the circumstances leading to the leasing of the contentious property to the gambling cartel.

Smart move
The gamblers' goal, a source hinted, was to operate under the cover of the diplomatic immunity the mission's property provided, concealing thereby their illegality. Unfortunately, that was not to be as Tokyo law enforcement officers descended upon them, took them into custody and confiscated two baccarats, gambling platforms, 12 million yen ($118,164), according to a local broadcaster.

Snippets of information available to DAILY GUIDE suggest that Ambassador Edmond Kofi Agbenutse Deh was deceived into signing documents unknowingly thereby letting out part of a property belonging to the mission to a gang of Japanese gamblers.

The envoy is said to have believed the story of the gamblers when they told him that they were engaged in an NGO activity specifically in drilling boreholes in Ghana, but showed no evidence of their drilling activities.

The trail
Ambassador Deh's predecessor, Dr. William George Mensah Brandful, was mentioned by the culprits as having been their first contact who agreed to the lease agreement. Ambassador Deh, fully convinced, quickly signed the accompanying tenancy agreement to let out the place to be used ostensibly as an NGO office.

According to Japanese investigators – as reported on Japanese Television Station, TV Asahi, in September 2012, a rental contract between the casino and the Ghanaian embassy requiring payment of 500,000 yen (approximately US$4,923.50) per month was written, using the name of the previous ambassador of Ghana to Japan. The document was signed at the ambassador's official residence and supported by diplomatic identification, DAILY GUIDE gathered.

Further revelations indicate that in March last year, the name on the contract was changed to that of the current ambassador – Edmond Kofi Agbenutse Deh – and it appeared on a billboard placed at the entrance of the casino, where the ambassador reportedly visited.

Reports gathered by this paper said on March 5, at 11:30 pm, Japanese police officers arrested the casino's manager, Hiroyuki Yamanoi, 35, and nine other employees for providing illegal baccarat gambling inside a casino, occupying the entire sixth floor of a multi-tenant building located in Dogenzaka. Two customers on the premises at the time were also taken into custody. Officers seized two baccarat tables and 12 million yen, according to Japanese public broadcaster, NHK.

It is estimated that over the past 17 months, the illegal gambling cartel collected 200 million yen ($1,969,400) in revenue.

By Raphael Ofori-Adeniran