(Los Angeles) MLB announced Friday the opening of an investigation into the scandal of supposedly illegal betting by the former interpreter of Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani.
Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter and close friend of Ohtani, is suspected of having stolen money from the Japanese player for allegedly illegal bets with a bookmaker. The Los Angeles Dodgers announced his dismissal on Thursday.
“MLB has been gathering information since we learned in the media of the accusations against Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara,” the league wrote in a press release.
“Earlier today (Friday), our investigations department formally began its work on the subject. »
MLB policy prohibits “any player, umpire, official or employee of a club or league” from betting on baseball or making illegal bets on any other sport.
According to the sports media ESPN, MLB should ask to hear all parties, including Ohtani and Mizuhara, the latter however no longer being obliged to respond since he no longer works for the Dodgers.
After two games in Seoul for the opening of the championship this week, the Dodgers will play their first home game on Thursday against the Saint-Louis Cardinals.
While sports betting has been legalized in a majority of American states, it remains illegal in California.
According to Los Angeles Timesthe West Hollywood law firm Berk Brettler LLP looked into Mr. Mizuhara’s operations after the newspaper learned that the star’s name had been mentioned in a federal investigation into a bookmaker.
Citing two anonymous sources, the LA Times claims that the embezzled amounts “are in the millions of dollars”.
ESPN specifies that several sources, including Mizuhara himself, said that Ohtani was not gambling and that the funds covered the performer’s losses.
Shohei Ohtani, recruited at the end of 2023 by the Los Angeles Dodgers with a record contract of 700 million dollars (642 million euros) over ten years, is an icon in Japan, where baseball is the king of team sports.
The 29-year-old ultra-versatile player hit the headlines at the end of February by announcing his marriage.