Olympus and Former Executives Plead Guilty

"Former Olympus chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa has pleaded guilty to charges of falsifying accounts, covering up losses of $1.7bn (£1.1bn), at the opening of his trial.

"Two other former executives, as well as the camera firm itself, filed a guilty plea in Tokyo District Court.

"They face up to 10 years in prison...."

READ ON at the BBC

Mike

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From Kenneth Tanaka: "Meanwhile it looks like Sony will, indeed, become a bit of a white knight investor in Olympus, to the tune of $642 million.

"An aside...throughout much of the 1990s I was involved with an institutional investment management firm that was a true pioneer in leading normally stodgy U.S. companies to invest across broader global asset classes. When prospective clients would wonder why fees were higher for non-U.S. assets, the investment managers would have to explain just how much in-depth research needed to be done to determine the true financial situation of overseas companies—yes, even in developed settings like Japan. Accounting standards vary wildly, often making it nearly impossible to gather enough accurate data to normalize against U.S. standards. Even very large multinationals, such as Olympus, have (ahem) flexible accounting standards that mask their true health. It's not generally as much a criminal evasion (as this case apparently was) as it is differences in culture. Variations often are found among companies in the same country, with explanations sometimes relying on the company's historical standards.

"While it might seem that the Internet has helped to make global finances more transparent, those still in the business suggest that this is not the case at all. This Olympus case would seem to buttress that opinion."

Comments

[Jeff]

EVIL doers end up with the PEN

[Roger Botting]

and will they join Bernie Madoff, the hucksters and corporate rapists and other folk who do the real stealing in society? Not forgetting all the small time theives, like the guy who robs the corner store and who gets punishment far beyond what the crime is really worth.

[Sal Santamaura]

"Two other former executives, as well as the camera firm itself, filed a guilty plea in Tokyo District Court.

"They face up to 10 years in prison...."

Gee, I think Japan would have been better off simply levying a massive fine against Olympus. The country will probably spend $1.7 billion or more to imprison the firm itself. :-)

[Stephen S. Mack]

A billion here, and a billion there, pretty soon you're talking about real money.

With best regards.

Stephen

[Steve Jacob]

@Jeff

Arrrrrggggggghhhhhh! But brilliant :)

[B.J. Segel]

Don't mind the book ads, but agree they are too small--at least on my iPad where I usually read TOP. I can barely read the titles and usually can't tell who the author is.

[Eric Rose]

To bad the crooks will never see the inside of a prison if history repeats itself. They will pay some small fine with money stolen from investors and go on their merry way.

[Kevin Purcell]

For those getting excited over the Sony investment in Olympus they should be aware that Sony money goes to a joint venture with Olympus to develop new medical imaging equipment.

Olympus is very big in endoscopes. Sony sees big money in the future of medical imaging.

It's not about the camera division though that seems to be rubbing off with OM-D (and E-PL5) getting an OEMed FourThirds Sony sensor and Sony EVFs and LCDs. I suspect those are sweeterners for the main deal.

Plus Sony Semiconductor makes money from selling components.

[Tim Medley]

I really, really hope this works out the way Microsoft's investment in Apple in the late '90s did ;-)

[D. Hufford.]

If these guys get 10 years prison time, I will eat my E-P3 with my OM-1 as a side dish. The standard has been that executives convicted of white collar crimes get 2 years suspended sentences. Occasionally, some young punk who rattles the cage of the establishment will get longer. The question is, have these crooks embarrassed the country enough to spend actual time in the hoosegow?

They have certainly damaged the reputation of the company overseas and even in Japan. Has Olympus changed? Sure, for one thing, what do you think the odds are that the company will ever appoint a non-Japanese as CEO again?

[m3photo]

"..., as well as the camera firm itself, filed a guilty plea in Tokyo District Court.

"They face up to 10 years in prison…."

So, do I buy my OM-D from a warden now?

[Earl Dunbar]

"If these guys get 10 years prison time, I will eat my E-P3 with my OM-1 as a side dish."

Nooooo!!! Not the OM-1!!!