Cash Bundles Worth 100 Million Won Found in Japanese Garbage Dump... 13 People Claim "It's My Money"

Sapporo Police Begin Investigation to Find the Real Owner

A large sum of cash was found at a waste disposal facility located in Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan, prompting authorities to search for the owner. However, no clues to identify the owner have emerged, and the authorities are reportedly facing difficulties.

According to local Japanese media such as Fuji News Network (FNN) on the 5th, on the 30th of last month, an employee working on sorting at a waste disposal facility in Sapporo City discovered several 10,000 yen bills spilling out from between newspaper sheets. The total amount of the bills found that day reached 10 million yen (approximately 100 million KRW), and the startled employee immediately reported it to the police.

10,000 yen Japanese banknote.

However, no clues to identify the owner were found in the discovered envelope, so the Sapporo city authorities and police publicly began searching for the person who lost the money. As a result, as many as 13 people claimed to be the owners of the cash bundles found across Japan.

They reportedly made claims such as "I lost it while traveling in Sapporo," "I lost the money while drunk," and "I lost it while carrying it in my pocket." Some even claimed, "It seems my grandparents, who suffer from dementia, lost it," or "My child living in Sapporo stole money from our Kyoto home and then lost it."

The police have officially accepted only 9 out of the 13 inquiries as lost property reports and plan to examine the background and characteristics of how these individuals lost the 10 million yen (approximately 100 million KRW). If the actual owner is confirmed, the money will be returned.

Local lawyer Sumita Yuko pointed out in an interview with FNN, "False reports may lead to charges of attempted fraud and punishment."

Meanwhile, if the actual owner is not identified by April 30, three months after the initial discovery on January 30, ownership of the cash bundles will transfer to Sapporo City. Last year in Hokkaido, out of approximately 700 million yen (about 6.7 billion KRW) found after being lost, only 407 million yen (about 3.8 billion KRW) was returned to the actual owners.