Securities watchdog to probe Olympus deals

Japan's securities watchdog will investigate Olympus's past business deals on suspicion that the company falsified financial statements.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission says Olympus deceived investors for years by failing to post its investment losses on annual financial reports.

The commission believes Olympus's corporate buyouts involving huge sums of money were aimed at covering up the diverting of funds to make up for the losses.
It plans to question the company's top managers, past and present.

Tokyo prosecutors are also showing strong interest in the case.
The prosecutors are expected to begin investigating the possible window-dressing of accounts, pending the results of the third-party probe.

They're expected to work with Japan's securities watchdog, and possibly consider cooperation with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and other overseas bodies.

Tuesday, November 08, 2011 19:43 +0900 (JST)