Aleph, Aum Supreme Truth Cult’s Successor, Fails to Report ¥700 Million; Group Apparently Sought to Hide Assets

Aum Supreme Truth’s main successor transferred financial assets in an apparent attempt to conceal them, according to a Public Security Intelligence Agency investigation report seen by The Yomiuri Shimbun.

The cult’s successor, which is called Aleph, used such means as extending loans to corporate entities represented or managed by people linked to the group, including its followers.

The agency has estimated that about ¥700 million in assets belonging to Aleph-linked corporations has not been reported to the government. It is believed Aleph had been attempting to prevent the assets from being seized for victims of Aum-related incidents who have demanded compensation.

The report was compiled by the agency in January 2023 based on the results of on-site inspections of Aleph facilities and other probes. It was submitted as evidence in a trial for a lawsuit filed by Aleph against the central government. A ruling in the trial was handed down in December last year. The Yomiuri Shimbun has confirmed the contents of the report.

According to the report, there are at least eight Aleph-linked corporate entities, with its followers being representatives, executives or investors. The head offices of these entities are all located at the same addresses as Aleph’s hub facilities. Aleph extended about ¥220 million in loans to some of the entities, transferred its right to receive repayments to other affiliated bodies and paid high fees for using facilities in order to transfer its assets.

The agency’s analysis suggests that Aleph’s actions were in response to a 2019 court ruling that ordered the group to pay more than ¥1 billion in compensation to victims of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system on March 20, 1995, and other Aum-linked incidents. The agency believes that Aleph hid its assets because they could be seized based on the ruling.

According to the agency, Aleph’s assets, which the group is required to report to the government under the Subversive Organizations Control Law, fell sharply from about ¥1.286 billion in February 2019 to about ¥8 million in February 2024. On the other hand, the agency estimates that assets of Aleph-linked corporate entities, including for-profit businesses, rose from about ¥460 million in February 2020 to at least ¥700 million in February 2024.