Olympus HQ raided by investigators
Japanese prosecutors search offices of the camera giant and homes of former executives as part of an investigation into a $1.7bn accounting scandal.
Tokyo prosecutors, police and financial regulators have joined forces in a rare joint investigation of the camera giant, which has now admitted to trying to cover up investment losses through questionable merger and acquisitions deals over the last two decades.
Olympus last week filed five years of corrected results, declaring a loss of £267m ($414m) and revising down the value of its net assets.
In what has been described as Japan’s biggest corporate scandal, a team of prosecutors entered Olympus HQ in Tokyo through the underground garage of the office building.
Other footage also shows legal teams arriving at the apartment complex where former chairman and president of Olympus Tsuyoshi Kikukawa lived.
The pace of the investigation quickened earlier this month after a panel of experts, appointed by Olympus, reported that two senior former executives masterminded the scheme with the help of investment bankers.
It also found that three ex-presidents, including Tsuyoshi Kikukawa who resigned in October over the scandal, had known about the cover-up.
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The investigation was first launched after ex-CEO Michael Woodford raised questions about missing funds after he was fired in October, and alleged that he was fired for questioning accounts.
Olympus’ shares were down 1.5 percent at 1,049 yen at the midday break, giving up early gains that extended a 16 percent surge the day before.