Sahashi: Please Make it Stop

Sahashi's legal woes are just beginning.

I appears that Sahashi's trail for embezzlement has yet to begin, but arguments in the ¥16 million class action lawsuit were heard in Osaka District Court on Thursday.

The group of 24 students argue that Nova management (Sahashi, his directors, and accounting firm KPMG AZSA & Co.) owe everyone an explanation as to why the company failed and why they did not refund approximately ¥56 billion (roughly $600 million USD at current exchange rates) owed to 300 thousand students.

This lawsuit has just started, but Sahashi is already asking them to drop their claims:

Nozomu Sahashi, ex-president of bankrupt Nova Corp., asked 24 former students of the language school to drop their demand for about ¥16 million in compensation for unpaid refunds as the lawsuit against his alleged embezzlement opened Thursday.

One of the former students, who did not receive a cancellation refund of about ¥300,000, said, "I hold a grudge against (Nova's) management, which never explained how (Nova) went bankrupt and who would take responsibility."

Somehow I don't think he'll find many people sympathetic to his plea.

元受講生ら「説明責任を」　ＮＯＶＡ授業料訴訟

経営破綻（はたん）した英会話学校「ＮＯＶＡ」（大阪市）の元受講生２４人が、元社長の猿橋望被告（５７）＝業務上横領の罪で起訴＝ら旧経営陣５人と、会計監査をした大手監査法人「あずさ監査法人」（東京）などに、主に前払い授業料として払った約１６００万円の賠償を求めた訴訟の第１回口頭弁論が１８日、大阪地裁であった。受講生約３０万人に約５６０億円の授業料が返還されなかった被害をめぐって、元受講生らは説明責任を果たすよう訴えた。被告側は争う姿勢を見せた。

元受講生で京都市に住む男性（６０）は意見陳述し、「旧経営陣の釈明を聞くために提訴した。被害者に何の謝罪もないのはなぜなのか」と述べた。「観光地・京都で外国人と触れあえたら」と受講したが、突然の破綻で解約返戻金（へんれいきん）約３０万円は支払われなかった。「破綻の経緯と責任について何の説明もないことに強い憤りを感じる」

ＮＯＶＡ被害対策大阪弁護団長の尾崎敬則弁護士は閉廷後に記者会見し、「監査役や監査法人が容認したため、こんな商法が成立した。裁判所には、お金だけではない被害者の思いを分かってほしい」と話した。次回弁論期日の来年４月までに追加提訴するという。