Japanese criminal syndicates using rare Pokemon cards to launder money: Report

Pokémon cards were a craze among fans when they launched, and continue to fetch high prices when collectors buy and sell them online, with one being bought by social media personality Logan Paul for a record $5.3 million in the US.

Now Japanese crime syndicates, popularly known as the yakuza, are using rare Pokémon cards to launder money, a former head of such an organisation told media outlet Shunkan Gendai Online.

"Many criminals who commit bank transfer fraud are converting the money they steal into Pokémon cards. Shady money can't be deposited in a bank, and there's a high risk of it being stolen if you hold it in cash. Pokémon cards are easy to hide, and if you take them overseas and cash them there, you can't get tracked down," the former crime lord told the publication.

The syndicates have also developed an ingenious method to detect rare cards among packs of the same since these are coated with shiny foiling. They use advanced metal detectors and sometimes very sensitive weighing scales to spot such cards from a bulk.

Buying high-value cards using bulks of ill-gotten cash helps criminals remain undetected by the police. They also make a profit as the value of such cards keep going up.

In January 2023, The Japan Times had published a report saying that an unprecented number of robberies of Pokémon and other such trading cards in the latter half of 2022.

In one such break-in, robbers managed to steal 60 rare cards worth around 8.5 million yen ($64,147 at the time of the incident).

In another incident that showcases the high value of such cards, a man was arrested in 2021 in Japan for allegedly descending into a store from a six-storey rooftop and stealing Pokémon cards as well as money.

When it comes to the most expensive Pokémon cards ever sold besides the world record, there have been ones priced close to half-a-million US dollars!