After missing the December 14 deadline to turn over accounting books to government prosecutors, Olympus’s offices, and the homes of Olympus executives have been raided by government prosecutors and police.
Weeks ago Olympus executives made promise after promise saying they would meet the December 14 deadline for making their accounting books public. Of course they did not keep that promise, not surprising when they ‘lost’ tens of billions of dollars since the late 1990s.
The losses are connected to an investment company that was based in the United States, and run by former Olympus officials. Apparently it was an elaborate shell game, where investment losses were hidden under the guise of buying out other companies.
The latest reports out of Japan are saying that two Olympus executives have confessed to the crime; former Olympus vice president Hisashi Mori and former auditor Hideo Yamada.