LOS ANGELES: Japanese two-way baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani said Monday that his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, had stolen his money.

“He stole money from my account and lied to everyone,” the Los Angeles Dodgers player told reporters at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, regarding Mizuhara’s alleged involvement in illegal gambling.

“I myself have never bet on anything” or “asked anybody to transfer money to a bookmaker from my account,” he also said at his first press conference on the scandal.

Ohtani stated that he did not know that Mizuhara had a large amount of gambling debts until a team meeting held in Seoul after this season’s opening game Wednesday. Mizuhara told Ohtani that he had accessed his account without permission and transferred money, according to Ohtani.

“I am saddened and shocked by the mistake made by the person I trusted,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani made these remarks to the press by reading out a statement. He did not take questions.

According to US media reports, Mizuhara had transactions with a bookmaker under investigation on suspicion of illegal gambling, and at least 4.5 million dollars was wired to the bookmaker from Ohtani’s account. Major League Baseball is also investigating the matter.

Mizuhara has told US media that Ohtani does not gamble.

Although Mizuhara initially said that Ohtani had covered the former interpreter’s gambling debts, he later retracted the remark.

JIJI Press