Another Fraud Case - MRI International

Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission is investigating an American financial firm, called  MRI International Inc, touting high-return medical-claims-backed investment products over the possible disappearance of JPY 100 billion (US 1 billion) clients' money.

The SESC suspects MRI International of faking performance reports and will call on the Financial Services Agency to take administrative action. The FSA is expected to immediately order the firm to suspend operations.

Las Vegas-based MRI International sells its investment products in Japan, advertising annual returns of 6% to 8.5%. It claims to have collected JPY 136.5 billion in investments from about 8,700 Japanese retail investors.