An independent panel that was appointed by Olympus to investigate the financial scandal surrounding the company has issued its report, calling Olympus "rotten to the core."
The panel detailed the roles it says were played by bankers in arranging a cover-up, and it says Olympus paid the bankers for their efforts. Auditors for Olympus have also been criticised for failing to expose fraud.
According to the report, Olympus persuaded several banks to submit incomplete financial statements to auditors to conceal financial problems involving at least $1.7 billion. It appears that banks were not aware of the cover ups.
The report, which is more than 200 pages long says, "The management was rotten to the core, and infected those around it." Auditors KPMG and Ernst & Young denied wrongdoing, while the Tokyo branch of Societe Generale, one of the banks involved, said it could not comment on the contents of the report.
No criminal connection
One piece of good news to come from the report is that the panel could find no evidence of organised crime involvement. Reports that mob links had led to speculation that Olympus would be delisted from the Tokyo Stock exchange, which would make stock extremely difficult to sell.
Before the report's release on Tuesday, Olympus stock rose by 15%. The stock exchange is still warning the company that it needs to meet its December 14th deadline to submit its latest financial statement.
Olympus issued an official statement regarding the report, saying that it was considering "further fundamental measures to restore confidence as soon as possible."
Mr Kikukawa, and a group of other executives, who no longer work at the company have been blamed for the corruption, with the panel suggestion that legal action should not be taken against others currently working there.
Keep following for more on Olympus scandal as it emerges.
Via New York Times
