Kansai Electric Power Company has admitted that three of its executives accepted cash and gifts from contractors as well as the former deputy mayor of a town that hosts one of its nuclear power plants.
Receiving cash and gifts directly from companies that won contracts from the utility deepens the kickback allegations.
In a news conference on Wednesday, KEPCO gave details of the inappropriate dealings with Eiji Moriyama, the late deputy mayor of Takahama Town in Fukui Prefecture.
They said 20 executives had accepted cash and gifts worth nearly 3 million dollars from Moriyama.
KEPCO said later that three of the executives had also received cash and gifts from two contractors. Moriyama was an adviser to one of the firms, a construction company.
One executive received cash worth roughly 9,300 dollars and about 3,700 dollars’ worth of gift vouchers from the construction firm. The two other officials accepted vouchers for five tailored suits from another company that won contracts for KEPCO.
KEPCO has awarded contracts and subcontracts worth roughly 60 million dollars to the construction firm in the past five years.