Olympus Corp. (7733) said it is suing 19 current and former executives (7733) over their roles in a $1.7 billion cover-up of losses following an independent panel’s report into management involvement in the fraud.
The Japanese camera maker’s auditors filed the lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Jan. 8, Olympus said in a statement today. The company is seeking 3.6 billion yen ($46.8 million) in damages from ex-Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, it said.
Olympus should seek more than 90 billion yen from more than 10 current and past executives, including President Shuichi Takayama, for hiding losses for more than a decade, according to the panel’s findings. Former President Michael Woodford, who was fired after he challenged the board (7733) on takeover and accounting practices, is suing the company for wrongful dismissal.
“It’s all part of the natural fallout to be expected with each party trying to stake their positions and to protect their legal interests,” Eugene Tan, assistant professor of law at the Singapore Management University, said yesterday following Japanese media reports that the lawsuits had been filed. “We’ll see suits and countersuits taking place in the next couple of weeks, if not months.”
The company inflated fees to advisers on the $2.1 billion acquisition of Gyrus Group Plc in 2008 and overpaid in purchasing three Japanese companies with the intention of increasing goodwill, a separate independent panel investigating the fraud said last month. The panel said it found a culture of “yes men” and a board that failed in its duty to stop a “rotten” core of executives from duping auditors, regulators and investors.
legal incense Frække Kostumer
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