As per local media accounts, Japan is reeling from the disappearance of approximately 900 luxury timepieces, valued at nearly $13 million. The unfolding saga began with the closure of a watch rental platform, culminating in its owner’s escape to Dubai.
Individuals who owned Rolex and other expensive watches earned monthly deposit fees by lending them to Toke Match, an Osaka-headquartered firm that would then lease the timepieces to its clientele.
Neo Reverse, the company responsible for Toke Match, made the announcement on January 31 that it would be discontinuing its services and pledged to return all watches to their respective owners.
According to reports from the Asahi Shimbun Daily and other media sources, a group comprising approximately 190 owners revealed that they have yet to be reunited with their property, which includes around 900 watches valued at 1.9 billion yen ($12.6 million).
Instances of some watches surfacing on an online auction platform have emerged, leading owners to file numerous complaints with law enforcement agencies across Japan.
The auction site’s operator Valuence Japan told AFP that at least 20 watches it handled had serial numbers matching those loaned to Toke Match.
“We immediately stopped the circulation of these watches to prevent further damages from happening” through reselling, a spokeswoman said last week.
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Half of the watches were already on the auction site before the Toke Match service was terminated, she said.
The Sharing Economy Association, Japan said in a statement that it had received reports that some of the watches were circulated in second-hand stores too.
The discovery of certain watches making their way onto an online auction platform has triggered a wave of complaints from owners, prompting swift action from law enforcement agencies across Japan.
The scale of Japan’s “sharing economy” market is swiftly expanding, reaching a notable 2.6 trillion yen ($17 billion) in the most recent fiscal year, according to reports from the association.
Neo Reverse, part of a group of about 400 members within the organization, was removed from the roster on February 1 due to grievances from owners about unreturned timepieces.
The report indicates that he is under suspicion for allegedly selling the Rolex he borrowed from an owner to a second-hand dealer for 650,000 yen in January.
However, Kominato flew out of Japan to Dubai in late February, prompting authorities to consider putting him on the international wanted list, Jiji disclosed.