Sahashi is suspected of ordering Nova’s accounting staff to transfer all of the money in the fund to a company account on July 20 last year and used it to refund money to students who canceled lessons after the school was ordered by the government the previous month to suspend part of its business over exaggerated advertisements. The company used to collect about 2,000 yen monthly from the pay of each employee and the money went into the special fund set up for congratulatory or condolence payments for employees, according to other sources. The fund was managed separately from the company’s accounting, they added.