Crime Yakuza boss trafficked nuclear material from Myanmar

[thomas]

Takeshi Ebisawa, allegedly a leader of a yakuza crime syndicate, has been charged by U.S. prosecutors with trafficking uranium and plutonium from Myanmar. The intention was for Iran to use these materials in the production of nuclear weapons potentially. Ebisawa is also accused of facilitating illegal narcotics sales and purchasing surface-to-air missiles on behalf of a Myanmar ethnic insurgent group. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasized the gravity of the charges, and Ebisawa's court-appointed lawyer disputes the characterization of his client as a Japanese crime boss. The investigation continues, and Ebisawa is scheduled to appear in the Federal District Court in Manhattan to face the new charges.

Mr. Ebisawa, 60, is being held in a federal jail in Brooklyn after being charged in 2022, along with three co-defendants, with international drug and weapons trafficking crimes. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. He is scheduled to appear in Federal District Court in Manhattan on the new charges on Thursday. [...] In September 2020, he offered to sell 50 metric tons of uranium and thorium for $6.85 million. A week later, he told the undercover agent that he could supply plutonium that would be "better" than uranium for Iran's purposes. He added that he did not have a license to sell such materials. The transaction, the agent acknowledged, would be "very quiet and illegal." As part of the trafficking scheme, the indictment says, Mr. Ebisawa sent the undercover agent a list of weapons he wanted, including surface-to-air missiles and AK-47 assault rifles. He then sent the agent a picture of the leader of an ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar who is an unindicted co-conspirator in the scheme, referring to the person as "No. 1."

Japanese Crime Boss Trafficked Nuclear Material From Myanmar, U.S. Says (Published 2024)

Takeshi Ebisawa, already facing federal drug trafficking charges, offered uranium and plutonium that he expected Iran to use in making nuclear weapons, prosecutors said.

www.nytimes.com

Sample of the nuclear material (Kyodo)​

Boss of Japan crime syndicate conspired to traffic nuclear material, say US prosecutors

Takeshi Ebisawa is being charged over a conspiracy to traffic uranium and plutonium from Myanmar, believing Iran would use it to make weapons

www.theguardian.com

Japanese yakuza charged in N.Y. over nuclear material trafficking

A U.S. attorney said Wednesday a leader of a yakuza organized crime syndicate has been charged with conspiring to traffic uranium and weapons-grade plutonium from Myanmar to other countries.

english.kyodonews.net

 

[mdchachi]

He doesn't look like a crime boss he just looks like an actor playing a crime boss.

 

[thomas]

He doesn't look like a crime boss he just looks like an actor playing a crime boss.

Jake Adelstein agrees with you.

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[thomas]

Ebisawa Takeshi was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 years in prison for trafficking uranium and plutonium from Myanmar in a plot meant to supply Iran's nuclear weapons program. He was sentenced by Judge Colleen McMahon in the Southern District of New York after he pleaded guilty to six charges, including conspiracy to commit international trafficking of nuclear material, according to court records.

Gift article:

Yakuza Leader Sentenced to 20 Years for Trafficking Nuclear Material

Prosecutors said Takeshi Ebisawa tried to sell uranium and plutonium from Myanmar in a plot tied to Iran’s nuclear program.

www.nytimes.com

Again, Jake Adelstein was quick to point out that he was anything but a yakuza leader. Now, he's just a Japanese conman spending two decades in a US prison.

If you only read the headlines, you know this as the case where a yakuza boss tried to sell nuclear material to bad actors on the world stage. If you read the court file, you see something very different: a broke 61‑year‑old confidence man from Utsunomiya who had never before been arrested, talking big to an undercover DEA agent who needed him to be bigger than he really was.

The Yakuza Boss Who Wasn't A Yakuza: The Tragicomic Story of Takeshi Ebisawa

In this life, you must be very careful what you pretend to be. Because pretending to be a yakuza boss might earn you millions, get you killed, or get you a lifetime in prison.

tokyopaladin.substack.com

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