Earlier today, Yahoo! News syndicated an article from the Weekly Bunshun Digital magazine that focuses on studio ufotable. In the piece, Weekly Bunshun alleges that the studio owes 400 million yen ($3,571,683.69 USD) in unpaid taxes, citing a source within the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau.
The article alleges that this is just one source of misconduct by the studio. According to the Weekly Bunshun Digital, ufotable is also under investigation for fraudulent accounting regarding the use of funds raised for charity from auctions related to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.
Citing a source within ufotable, the article notes that studio president Hikaru Kondo has been speaking with his lawyer on a daily basis. Moreover, the source notes that Kondo hasn’t attended the office in the past weeks, opting to work from home. He instead began working at ufotable’s Suginami studio roughly two weeks ago.
According to the Weekly Bunshun Digital, misappropriating funds for charity carries a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment.
Ufotable was established in 2000 in Tokyo’s Nakano prefecture. The studio, which is headed by Matsuri Ouse, was formed by former TMS Entertainment staff members. The company has become a darling among fans for its work on the Fate franchise, including Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works and Fate/Zero. The studio is currently producing the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime TV series.
Source: Yaraon!
