It has been alleged that part of the money was channelled through Dentsu, Duskin's agency, according to reports in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, which first reported on the case. The incident is one of a number of wrongdoings at Duskin where several past and present executives have been arrested on suspicion of "aggravated breach of trust".
According to newspaper reports, Dentsu executives admitted making "inappropriate payments" and inflated invoices for airtime to Duskin to raise the funds.
Reports say that Dentsu initially declined the request but complied when threatened with the loss of the account. Dentsu declined to comment. Sources say the events occurred in 1999 and 2000, before Dentsu's IPO and before its invoicing and accounting procedures were revamped to prevent abuses.
It is also understood that the executives involved have since retired from Dentsu. Duskin operates the Mister Donut chain and provides programming to cable TV operators.