Former Olympus executives plead guilty in accounting fraud trial

Three executives from troubled imaging giant Olympus have pleaded guilty to boosting the company's true value in 2007 and 2008 by concealing losses in financial statements. Former chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, ex-auditor Hideo Yamada and former VP Hisashi Mori were charged with fraud in the scandal, which was brought to light last year by ex-CEO Bob Woodford. He was fired by the Olympus board for blowing the whistle, but reportedly received a large settlement for his troubles. The company has since confessed to cooking the books as far back as the 90's to hide investment losses, and revealed in 2011 that it had a billion dollars less value than previously stated. That, along with the poor performance of its camera division, has forced Olympus to seek a partner or raise capital to survive.

Filed under: Cameras

Former Olympus executives plead guilty in accounting fraud trial originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 01:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.