Police in Japan have started rouding up former senior executives of digital camera maker Olympus among them former Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, and a former broker who worked for Olympus.
Fraud Squad detectices are set to question them over their alleged role in the $1.5 billion loss-hiding scheme which it is alleged that the directors ran for more than a decade in an effort to hide losses.
Also arrested are Olympus advisers, ex-Chairman Kikukawa, former Executive Vice President Hisashi Mori, former company auditor Hideo Yamada, as well as former broker Akio Nakagawa. all have been detained on suspicion of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law through falsifying financial statements, according to a statement by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department also arrested longtime Olympus financial adviser Nobumasa Yokoo and two others in connection with the case, prosecutors said.
None of the individuals arrested have been charged.
The Wall Street Journal said that he arrests came three months after the Japanese maker of cameras and endoscopes said the executives had been responsible for hiding more than $1.5 billion in investment losses for 13 years. The executives haven’t publicly commented on the allegations.
Japanese prosecutors, police and securities regulators in December raided the offices of Olympus and the homes of the former executives suspected of being directly involved in the coverup. Separately, investigations into the matter are continuing in the U.S. and U.K.
