The former President and Chairman of Olympus who oversaw the financial mismanagement that has seen the company's value more than halved, has been arrested. Company auditor Hideo Yamada and four bankers connected to the cover-up of billions of dollars-worth of investment losses were also arrested.
Prosecutors arrested on Thursday former Olympus Corp. Chairman and President Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, two other former executives and a former securities company employee on suspicion of falsifying the company's financial reports in its massive investment loss coverup.
Kikukawa, 70, the Japanese camera and medical equipment maker's former auditor Hideo Yamada, 67, former Executive Vice President Hisashi Mori, 54, former employee at Axes Japan Securities Co. Akio Nakagawa, 61, and three others allegedly violated a law that bans falsification of securities registration statements.
Former President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Woodford, who blew the whistle on the company's acquisition deals, said he felt vindicated by the arrests.
The scandal surfaced late last year when then Olympus President Michael Woodford raised questions about huge payments for financial advice and acquisitions of companies unrelated to the company's mainstay businesses.
Kikukawa resigned from all posts at Olympus last year. Former Olympus chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa and two other former executives have been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into a $1.7 billion fraud case at the Japanese camera company.