The Japanese band Alien Liberty International is on “indefinite hiatus” after their drummer, Kahadio, was arrested twice on fraud charges in Japan last month. Kahadio, whose real name is Kadio Shirai, also lost his contract with the group’s management, so he is no longer a member of the band. ALI was picked to perform the theme song for the series The World Ends with You the Animation, but the theme song has since been replaced.
Shirai was arrested on April 4 on alleged special fraud charges, reports Anime News Network. Tokyo Metropolitan Police investigators allege Shirai took part in a “refund scam,” a growing crime issue in Japan. In the scam, the criminal pretends to be an official and promises their victims that the government will refund them if they take money out of ATMs or give them their ATM card.
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A few weeks later, Shirai was arrested again for a separate bank refund scam. Police accused Shirai of scamming an elderly woman in Osaka on March 3. He allegedly asked the woman to transfer 2.31 million yen (about $21,000) that she would have used on medical expenses to a bank account. The next day, the musician was seen allegedly withdrawing 420,000 yen (about $4,000) from an ATM.
Following his arrests, ALI posted a statement on May 14, confirming the band is no longer active. “Thank you for always supporting ALI. In response to the indictment of former member Kahadio,” the statement read. “We are pleased to inform you that our band ALI will be suspended indefinitely. We sincerely apologize to all the fans who support us and all the people concerned.”
ALI was established in 2016 and members of the band come from around the world. The group found success with its 2019 singer “Wild Side,” which served as the opening theme song for the anime BEASTARS. They also recorded the theme songs for Jujutsu, Kaisen, and Noblesse. One of their recent songs, “Teenage Riot City,” was set to be the opening song for The World Ends with You the Animation, an adaptation of Square Enix’s roleplaying game. The series’ producers later announced that they will use a different song for the opening. Some of ALI’s songs have also reportedly been removed from Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.
