Former Chinese Embassy Official in Japan Arrested for COVID-19 Relief Fraud

Authorities alleged that fake applications were submitted for the Japanese government’s COVID-19 relief subsidies for his businesses.

A police officer stands guard outside the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo on Jan. 10, 2023. Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images

A Chinese businessman who once was an official with the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo has been arrested in Japan for allegedly defrauding the Japanese government’s COVID-19 relief fund program.

Xu Yaohua, 62, previously served as secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Japan during the 1980s and has since been running a local restaurant group.