Former Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami has reportedly not been indicted for allegedly importing illegal supplements containing THC.
Media reports in Japan said prosecutors in the country’s Fukuoka prefecture had decided against an indictment.
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“As a result of a careful examination of evidence that we obtained through our investigation, we decided not to indict him,” an official at the Fukuoka district public prosecutors office told the Jiji Press news agency.
Police in Fukuoka had referred the case to regional prosecutors in April, seven months after Niinami stepped down from the helm at Suntory. He had been CEO for over a decade, taking on the position in 2014.
Suntory had issued a statement announcing Niinami’s departure on 1 September. The Jim Beam owner said it had received notification of the police probe on 22 August.
At the time, the group said Niinami had told the business the investigation was related to “supplements that were allegedly purchased by him under the understanding that they were legal”.
The statement added that, while the investigation was still ongoing, Suntory had decided Niinami would be unable to continue in the chief executive role the company.
“Therefore, without waiting for the outcome of the investigation, the company determined that Takeshi Niinami’s actions which demonstrated a lack of awareness regarding supplements rendered him unable to continue in the key position of representative director, chairman and CEO,” Suntory said at the time.
President Nobuhiro Torii assumed the role of chief executive.
