BANGKOK – Immigration police have arrested Japan’s most-wanted, white-collar criminal, who spent 11 years hiding in Thailand.

The suspect, identified as Yasuo Tsubaki, was apprehended while having his visa extended at Government House on Thursday. The man is said to have had facial surgery to avoid detection by the authorities.

Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda disclosed that existing documents indicated Tsubaki is the same person in the arrest warrant forwarded by Japanese authorities. An examination by Japanese police will be carried out to reconfirm his identity.

Tsubaki was a lawyer and businessman that used to work for a well-known machinery manufacturer in Japan between 2001 and 2006. During that time, he allegedly orchestrated a ‘pump and dump’ of his company’s shares, artificially inflating its value from 200,000 yen per share to 1.2-1.5 million yen per share. He then sold or ‘dumped’ all his shares in the company, causing Japan’s stock market to lose 12 billion yen or four billion baht.