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SFO takes on Olympus over accounting scandal

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5th Sep 2013
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The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has started criminal proceedings against Olympus and its UK subsidiary in connection to a £1.1bn accounting scandal at the Japanese camera maker.

Olympus and Gyrus Group, a UK subsidiary of Olympus Corporation, have been charged with offences of making a statement to an auditor which was "misleading, false or deceptive," contrary to section 501 of the Companies Act 2006, the UK anti-fraud agency said.

Gyrus Group faces four charges and Olympus faces one charge.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place between April 2010 and March 2011 and arose from a global fraud case for which Olympus was prosecuted in Japan, the SFO said.

The scandal was exposed in 2011 when chief executive Michael Woodford was dismissed after challenging chairman Kikukawa and the board over suspiciously large payments related to acquisitions.

The first hearing in the SFO case will be on 10 September at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

In July, three former Olympus executives were given suspended jail terms for their roles in one of Japan’s biggest accounting scandals.

Former chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, vice president Hisashi Mori and auditing officer Hideo Yamada pleaded guilty last year to charges of falsifying accounts to cover up losses of £1.1bn. 

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