Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

More red meat for the grinder. that Nova president Nozomu Sahashi was the sole owner of Ginganet, the company that sold videophones to Nova.

According to the article, Nova's trustees announced in a press conference that former president Nozomu Sahashi, who was the sole shares holder of the company Ginganet, sold videophone systems to Nova a several times the list price.

The transactions are believed to have resulted in profits of at least 4 billion yen. A trustee added that it appears forced losses on Nova so he could pocket the cash himself.

According to a trustee, Nova has purchased approximately 100 thousand videophone systems since July 2002. The price of the systems, supplied by NEC, were several times higher than the list price, and over the course of 5 years, Nova paid roughly 8.2 billion yen for them.

Around the time Nova filed for protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law on October 26, Sahashi is reported to have sold his shares of Ginganet and those he held of travel company NTB. A trustee stated that Sahashi might have done this to obstruct Nova's efforts to find a receiver.

Edit: As pointed out by "A" in comments, the shares weren't sold to NTB. says that Sahashi sold some of his holdings in Nova and Ginganet to an IP phone company in Tokyo.

The article ends by noting that while Nova recorded a loss of approximately 3.1 billion yen in fiscal 2005 and 2.9 billion yen in fiscal 2006, Sahashi was paid approximately 309 million yen in fiscal 2005 and 100 million yen in fiscal 2006.

Amazing. If he can't control Nova, then nobody will. Sahashi is going down. Let's see him try and fax his way out of this.

「お茶の間留学」用機器、猿橋氏会社から数倍価格で購入

会社更生法の適用を申請した英会話学校最大手「ＮＯＶＡ」（大阪市）が２００２年７月以降、猿橋（さはし）望・前社長が実質的に全株式を保有していた通信ネットワークサービス会社「ギンガネット」（同）から「お茶の間留学」用のテレビ電話システムを仕入れ価格の数倍の値段で購入していたことが３０日、わかった。

ＮＯＶＡの保全管理人の東畠敏明弁護士が同日夜、大阪市内で記者会見し、明らかにした。

ギンガネットはこの取引によって少なくとも４０億円以上の利益を得たとみられ、保全管理人は「猿橋氏が自らの利益を得るためにＮＯＶＡに損害を与えた特別背任の疑いがある」と明言。猿橋前社長に対する刑事告発や損害賠償請求を検討することを明らかにした。

ギンガネットは自宅でテレビ電話を使ってレッスンを受けられる「お茶の間留学」のシステムを開発・販売。全株式のうち猿橋前社長が５０％、前社長がオーナーの「ノヴァ企画」が残りの５０％を保有していた。

保全管理人によると、ＮＯＶＡは０２年７月以降、約１０万台のシステムをギンガネットから購入。購入価格は同社がＮＥＣから仕入れた価格の数倍で、５年間で計約８２億円を支払った。

また、猿橋前社長はＮＯＶＡが会社更生法の適用を申請した今月２６日前後に、数回に分けてギンガネットと、同様に実質支配していた旅行会社「ＮＴＢ」の全株式を売却していたことがわかった。これにより、お茶の間留学の事業継続は困難になり、保全管理人は「（猿橋氏に）ＮＯＶＡの支援企業候補との交渉を妨害する意図があった可能性がある」と述べた。

ＮＯＶＡは０５年度は約３１億円、０６年度は約２９億円の赤字決算だったが、猿橋前社長は役員報酬や配当として０５年は３億９０００万円、０６年は１億５９００万円の所得を得ていたという。

Edit: :

Former NOVA President Nozomu Sahashi has come under suspicion of unfairly profiting from the sale of overpriced video-phone equipment, a lawyer for the collapsed English-teaching company has announced.

Toshiaki Higashibatake, a lawyer serving as a preservation administrator for NOVA, made the announcement at a news conference in Osaka. The lawyer said a company that was in essence fully owned by Sahashi's family was suspected of buying video phones from a manufacturer and selling them to NOVA for several times the original price, thereby allowing Sahashi to profit unfairly.

"We are investigating whether this constitutes aggravated breach of trust or misappropriation," Higashibatake said, indicating that both civil and criminal legal proceedings were being considered.

The lawyer said the video phones were provided by communications firm Ginganet Co., which holds the patents to the video-phone system used in NOVA's "Ochanoma Ryugaku" home lessons. NOVA reportedly invested 7 billion yen in the development of the service. Higashibatake said that over five years from July 2002, NOVA bought 100,000 units from Ginganet, paying out 8.2 billion yen.

Higashibatake said that immediately after NOVA collapsed and a protective court order was issued, Sahashi sold all of the shares he held in Ginganet and the travel firm NTB Co., including those held by his relatives, to a single person.

"I was hoping that he would take responsibility for his management of the company and entrust all of the shares to a preservation administrator, but what has happened is really regrettable. I'm furious about it," the lawyer said.

Update 11/01

The Daily Yomiuri

The trustees may charge Sashashi.

Toshiaki Higashibata, court-appointed administrator of Nova, revealed at a press conference on the same day that Osaka-based Ginganet Corp., virtually owned by Sahashi, is believed to have made billions of yen in the deal.

"Sahashi is suspected of a breach of trust by damaging Nova for his own profit," the administrator said. He also revealed he would file a criminal complaint and civil suit against the former Nova president.

Where the shares went:

Sahashi sold all existing stocks of Ginganet and NTB Co., a travel agency that he virtually owned, on separate occasions around Oct. 26, when Nova filed for protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law. The administrator said the sale made it difficult for Nova to continue the home lessons.

"Sahashi might have intended to hinder the new executives' negotiations with firms interested in becoming its corporate sponsor," Higashibata said.

All the shares were purchased by a Tokyo-based IP phone firm and the firm's 60-year-old president, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Wednesday.

According to the president, Sahashi offered to sell the shares of NTB and Ginganet in September.

The president bought half the shares for himself and half for his firm before Nova filed for protection under the rehabilitation law. The president did not reveal how much he paid for the shares.

"People told me not to buy the shares because Ginganet's liabilities exceed its assets," the president said. "But the employees of the Ginganet also asked me to save their company, so I accepted the offer not considering gains or losses. I didn't expect Nova would file for protection."

He added, however, that he hopes to cooperate with Nova.

Comment: Let me get this straight: the guy buys shares in Ginganet despite not knowing anything about the company and despite being told not to, and then is surprised that Nova filed for bankruptcy protection? There's a sucker born every minute, isn't there?