Tens of millions of yen found at home of Aum Shinrikyo founder’s wife

Police in Saitama Prefecture have found tens of millions of yen in cash at the home of the wife of the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult’s founder Chizuo Matsumoto, who went by the name Shoko Asahara, informed sources said Tuesday.

The cash was found when the Saitama Prefectural Police searched the apartment of Matsumoto’s 66-year-old wife and 31-year-old second son, the sources said.

Matsumoto was executed in 2018 over a series of incidents involving the cult, including the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on Tokyo’s subway system.

According to sources including those from the Public Security Intelligence Agency, the wife and son are not members of Aleph, Aum Shinrikyo’s main successor group, although the group is believed to be seeking to make the son a guru to succeed his father.

Read more: Japan Times