2-Yr Sentence Sought for Ex-Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Worker

   Tokyo, June 2 (Jiji Press)--Prosecutors sought a two-year prison term for a former Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank employee in an insider trading trial on Monday.
   In their closing argument at Tokyo District Court, prosecutors pointed out that when he was in the bank the defendant, Hajime Katayama, 55, took the advantage of his position as a securities transfer agency business director to repeat stock transactions based on information about clients and gained some 29.3 million yen in profit.
   Then they demanded that Katayama be imprisoned for two years, fined 2 million yen and ordered to forfeit additional 61.4 million yen, calling him a habitual, malicious offender with a strong criminal intent. "There is no room for clemency," they stressed.
   Meanwhile, the defense in its final plea called for a cut in the penalty money and a suspended sentence, insisting that Katayama's case be treated as a voluntary surrender because he reported the illegal transactions to the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office before they came to light.
   The defendant, who has already admitted to violating the financial instruments and exchange law, said, "I'm sorry for causing a big trouble."

(2025/06/02-16:32)

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