Trouble at Olympus: the story so far – The Verge

Former Olympus chairman gets suspended sentence for role in massive accounting scandal

2013-07-03T02:45:17-04:00

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Three former Olympus officials, including disgraced ex-chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, all received suspended prison sentences today for their role in an accounting fraud that threw the company into turmoil. Bloomberg reports that Kikukawa and auditing officer Hideo Yamada got three-year sentences suspended for five years, and executive vice president Hisashi Mori got two and a half years suspended for three.

The relatively light sentences take into account that much of the fraud was set into motion before the executives were involved. "Kikukawa and Yamada succeeded in a negative legacy and weren't involved in the decision-making process to hid …

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Olympus confirms 2,700 layoffs, plans to focus on mirrorless and high-end compact cameras

2012-06-08T03:54:48-04:00

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We heard last week that Olympus was planning to cut 2,500 jobs, but the truth is a little worse - the company has confirmed that it'll lay off around 2,700 people by March 2014. The move represents a reduction in workforce of about 7 percent. Olympus has outlined a 5-year vision for itself, forecasting a ¥7 billion ($88 million) net profit this year and setting the ultimate goal of reaching an 11 percent operating margin by 2017.

Apart from its profitable medical equipment business, the company plans to lift its photography division by focusing on its successful range of mirrorless cameras - exemplified by recent products such as the excelle …

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Olympus to cut 2,500 jobs, consolidate overseas plants, sell 10 percent stake to Sony or Panasonic

2012-05-30T05:53:50-04:00

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Japanese newspapers are reporting that Olympus will cut around 2,500 jobs - over seven percent of its total workforce - in an effort to stem its financial losses. The cuts will be announced on June 8th, and will come from the company's struggling camera business as well as the consolidation of overseas plants. Olympus has been in dire straits after recently admitting to accounting irregularities estimated at $1.7 billion.

In addition to the job cuts, Asahi Shimbun reports that the company is to sell a 10 percent equity stake for "tens of billions of yen" to either Sony or Panasonic. It's not the first time we've heard of possible partnerships …

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Olympus wants to trim camera portfolio, says incoming president Sasa

2012-04-05T07:03:39-04:00

Gallery Photo: Olympus CES point-and-shoot lineup

Incoming Olympus president Hiroyuki Sasa has expressed a desire to cut back the company's camera line in an attempt to return to profitability. In an interview with the Japan Times, Sasa confirmed interest from several firms in the possibility of a partnership, but said that the company was still "studying various possibilities and scenarios." Sasa indicated that the company's camera portfolio was too expansive, and singled out its compact cameras in particular as an area where savings could be made.

This wouldn't come as a surprise to us - while Olympus has been largely instrumental in driving the success of mirrorless cameras, its less ex …

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Olympus considering potential partnerships with Sony and Fujifilm, among others

2012-04-03T18:32:02-04:00

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Olympus has had a bad year, to put it bluntly - it was revealed that the company lost over two billion dollars due to bad investments and tried to cover it all up. Despite all the troubles, however, the company might be getting some assistance from some powerful companies. German publication Der Spiegel is reporting that at least three companies are bidding to form partnerships with the strugglng camera-maker (who is also the world's biggest maker of endoscopes). President Hiroyuki Sasa indicated that both Sony and Fujifilm are interested, as well as medical systems company Terumo and a number of other unnamed companies. Olympus is looking t …

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Tokyo prosecutors charge Olympus, three former executives, and three others with accounting fraud

2012-03-07T11:08:06-05:00

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Olympus has been wracked with legal problems since former CEO Michael Woodford blew the whistle about the company's shady accounting back in October of last year. Now, Olympus, three of its former executives, and three others are all being charged with accounting fraud by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office. If convicted, Olympus faces fines of up to ¥700 million (about $8.6 million), while the executives involved each face fines of up to ¥10 million (about $124,000) and up to ten years in prison.

The troubles all stem from Olympus's attempt to cover up approximately $1.7 billion in losses by exploiting Japanese accounting loophol …

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Former Olympus chairman Kikukawa arrested over fraud

2012-02-16T02:01:07-05:00

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Following a raid on Olympus's headquarters by Japanese prosecutors, the company's former chairman and six others have been arrested. Tsuyoshi Kikukawa is accused of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act by covering up $1.7 billion in losses, which were exposed in part by the ex-company president and CEO Michael Woodford. Kikukawa was one of the 18 executives sued by Olympus over the scandal last month, along with former company auditor Hideo Yamada and former executive vice president Hisashi Mori, who were also arrested with four other members of staff. Not only do the employees face prosecution, but it looks like Olympus itse …

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Alleging fraud, Olympus sues its president and 18 other executives

2012-01-09T22:28:58-05:00

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In the newest twist in the Olympus saga, the company is now suing its president, Shuichi Takayama, seeking damages for his role in the $1.7 billion dollar cover-up that has rocked the Japanese camera maker. Eighteen other executives, including three ex-directors, were named with Takayama, as part of an accounting fraud that took place over nearly a decade.

The firm hid investing losses in a series of supposed merger payouts; former CEO Michael C. Woodford was fired after questioning the practice. He's fought to be reinstated in the role, but is now preparing his own lawsuit for wrongful dismissal. Olympus has lost nearly 60 percent of its v …

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Olympus headquarters raided by Japanese prosecutors

2011-12-21T00:18:03-05:00

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The financial scandal at Olympus has turned into a legal one. Several sources report that Japanese prosecutors have raided Olympus' headquarters, offices belonging to business partners implicated in the scandal, and executives' homes. Japanese television showed the raids live, with "dozens of black-suited investigators marching double file" into one building.

The raids came after Olympus itself admitted to wrongdoing. An independent report had estimated the covered up losses at $1.7 billion, but Olympus itself said it covered up $1.5 billion in a last-minute filing to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The filing came just in time to keep the stock fr …

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Olympus concealed $1.7 billion in losses, says damning report

2011-12-06T05:00:54-05:00

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The 185-page report prepared by an independent panel investigating the Olympus accounting scandal has been released confirming the $1.7 billion cover-up reported by Reuters. The harshly-worded report says, "The core part of management was rotten and the parts around it were also contaminated by the rot." It criticized external auditors KPMG AZSA and Ernst & Young ShinNihon for "assisting with the concealment" and Olympus' "tribal culture of the Japanese salaryman."

The report lists 10 primary reasons for the the scandal but blame is directed mainly at the former internal auditor Hideo Yamada and former vice president Hisashi Mori who cooked t …

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