TOKYO: A former Japan Display Inc. executive suspected of embezzling more than 500 million yen from the company has died in an apparent suicide, investigative sources said.

After the maker of small and midsize liquid crystal display panels announced on Nov. 21 the alleged embezzlement, the former executive, who was in charge of accounting at JDI, was found in a state suggesting that he committed suicide in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward later in the month, according to the sources.

He was confirmed dead at a hospital where he was transported, and Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department is investigating details of the case, the sources said.

The former executive repeatedly placed fictitious orders with a dummy company and embezzled 578 million yen from JDI, including as commission fees, between July 2014 and October 2018, according to JDI.

During a probe by JDI, the former official admitted that he used the money for private purposes. JDI dismissed the former official in December 2018 while filing a criminal complaint against him.

JIJI Press