LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) – The case for unfair dismissal brought by former Olympus CEO Michael Woodford following the uncovering of one of Japan’s biggest corporate frauds was delayed on Monday, sparking talk of an out-of-court settlement.

The employment tribunal began in London, throwing the spotlight back on a $1.7 billion accounting scandal that cost the camera-to-endoscope maker its board and reputation.

But briefly into the proceedings, which had been planned to last five days, presiding Judge Foxwell gave the legal teams for Woodford and Olympus until Tuesday morning to put the finishing touches to their cases.

The delay is a possible sign that Woodford and Olympus are negotiating a settlement.

“If there is an extra lag, there is always a chance to settle and it to go no further,” said Jo Keddie, a partner at law firm Winckworth Sherwood.

But it could also give the judge needed more time to prepare, or enable the feuding parties to finalise their arguments, she added.

Woodford, who was surrounded by his legal team from Simmons & Simmons carrying boxes of documents for the hearing, will be first to present his case on Tuesday.

LONDON (Reuters) – Michael Woodford, the ousted chief executive of Olympus (7733.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), will try to persuade a London judge his embattled former employer fired him because he blew the cover off one of Japan’s most high-profile corporate frauds.

The five-day hearing, which starts on Monday, will throw the spotlight back onto a $1.7 billion accounting scandal that has cost the camera-to-endoscope maker its board and reputation.

Woodford, chief executive for just two weeks before he was sacked, was expected to sue for up to 10 years’ lost salary in a multi-million pound claim that could mark a record payout.

By bringing a claim on the grounds of whistleblowing and discrimination in the employment tribunal in east London, Woodford’s damages are unlimited, depending on whether he is likely ever to regain a career at global CEO level again.

Olympus has surprised some legal experts by failing to date to reach a settlement with Woodford, who has already published a book about his experiences in Japanese and plans another in English around October.

“This case is a graphic illustration of how an employee can bring an uncapped claim against his employer from day one and without any qualifying service condition,” said Anthony Fincham of law firm CMS Cameron McKenna “and of course employers will often be concerned with the reputation damage that may ensue from a court appearance.”

Woodford was unanimously dismissed by the Olympus board last October after persistently demanding answers from top executives about a string of obscure and hefty payments linked to acquisitions.

LONDON, May 24 (Reuters) – Michael Woodford, the ousted Olympus CEO, will next Monday bring his lawsuit for unfair dismissal for whistleblowing and discrimination against his former Japanese employer, in a case that could yield a record payout.

Woodford, who declined to comment ahead of the court hearing, is expected to sue for up to 10 years’ lost salary in a multi-million pound claim – unless the camera-to-endoscope maker offers an acceptable settlement.

Few legal experts believe Olympus, which is struggling to draw a line under one of Japan’s worst corporate scandals, has much to gain from the five-day hearing that will throw the spotlight back onto a $1.7 billion fraud.

“Interestingly, two-thirds of such claims are settled or withdrawn before the tribunal makes a judgment,” noted Jo Keddie, a partner at law firm Winckworth Sherwood, adding that the highest UK award to date has been around 3.8 million pounds ($5.97 million).

By bringing a claim on the grounds of whistleblowing and discrimination in the employment tribunal in east London, Woodford’s damages are unlimited, depending on whether he is likely ever to regain a career at global CEO level again.

Woodford was unanimously dismissed by the Olympus board last October, two weeks into the job as CEO, after persistently demanding answers from top executives about a string of obscure and hefty payments linked to acquisitions.

After the board decision to fire its first non-Japanese CEO, made during a meeting at which he was not allowed to speak, Woodford says he was told to vacate his Tokyo apartment, return his laptops and telephones and take the bus to the airport.

LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) – Britain’s embattled Serious Fraud Office pushed for the arrest of Robert Tchenguiz, one of the country’s most high-profile property magnates, in part because of an unverified report in a free London tabloid, a court heard on Wednesday.

Ken Macdonald, lawyer for Robert the younger brother of Vincent Tchenguiz who are both accused of fraud linked to the collapse of Iceland’s Kaupthing bank in 2008, said the SFO decided he was a flight risk and should be arrested partly because the Metro daily reported his house was for sale.

“They didn’t check it out and it wasn’t true,” Macdonald told London’s High Court on the second day of a legal challenge by the tycoons that has put the bruised fraud agency in the dock over its handling of the investigation.

This latest development heaps further misery on the SFO, which already has been accused of “sheer incompetence” by the judge in the high-profile case. On Tuesday it admitted it will now urgently review Vincent’s status as a suspect.

Any decision to drop the case, the SFO’s most ambitious to date, would deal a further blow to an image already battered by a litany of admissions of errors and apologies in the case, and add further fuel to speculation that its days could be numbered.

The Tchenguiz business empire, which once included large stakes in retailer J Sainsbury, pub chain Mitchells and Butlers and a vast portfolio of property assets valued at up to 4 billion pounds ($6.3 billion), has been severely dented since the Icelandic banking collapse.

But the Iranian-born brothers still maintain a high profile and are renowned for their champagne-fuelled parties and yachts.

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) – Britain’s embattled Serious Fraud Office faces further humiliation over its bungled investigation of property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz, after saying it will urgently review his status as a suspect.

The agency has already been accused of “sheer incompetence” by a judge over its handling of the high-profile investigation into Vincent and his brother Robert’s dealings with Iceland’s Kaupthing Bank, which collapsed in 2008 under massive debts.

According to court filings seen by Reuters on Tuesday, the SFO concedes it has received accounts from Vincent that present the “potential” to address its suspicions about his dealings with Kaupthing.

“As such, the Director (of the SFO) is not in a position to reach a concluded view as to VT’s (Vincent Tchenguiz’s) status as a suspect in advance of (the court) hearing; but does wish to make it publicly clear that he is conducting an urgent review of that status,” it stated.

The SFO cautioned that the nature of Robert’s relationship with senior Kaupthing executives still needed careful assessment.

A three-day judicial review launched by the brothers into the SFO’s handling of the case kicked off this week in London’s High Court, where Peter Goldsmith, counsel for Vincent Tchenguiz, said the SFO had been lurching from one 11th-hour concession to another.

“That (the court filings) is as close as I have ever seen to a prosecuting authority saying they might well have to stop this investigation,” he stated.

LONDON (Reuters) – BGC Partners (BGCP.O: Quote, Profile, Research) broker Anthony Verrier faces a lifetime ban from working in the U.K financial services industry, after he poached staff from rival Tullett Prebon (TLPR.L: Quote, Profile, Research).

Britain’s financial regulator on Wednesday said its decision to seek a ban was based on a High Court ruling on the case two years ago.

Verrier’s fate is the latest twist in long-running and colourful feuds between BGC, Tullett and ICAP (IAP.L: Quote, Profile, Research), some of the world’s largest brokers that match buyers and sellers of currencies, bonds and swaps in a fiercely competitive market.

The firms have in recent years had regulars feuds, over poaching and patent infringement, many of which have ended up in court.

Britain’s High Court ruled in 2010 that BGC, its president Shaun Lynn and Verrier, had conspired to induce ten Tullett brokers to defect to their firm. Verrier had joined BGC from Tullett a year earlier.

“In light of the High Court’s findings about Verrier’s conduct, we have concluded that he is not fit and proper to be in the UK financial services industry,” said Tracey McDermott, the FSA’s acting director of enforcement and financial crime said on Wednesday.

The court found that “Verrier stuck to the truth where he was able to, but departed from it with equanimity and adroitness where the truth was inconvenient”.

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) – BGC Partners broker Anthony Verrier faces a lifetime ban from working in the U.K financial services industry, after he poached staff from rival Tullett Prebon.

Britain’s financial regulator on Wednesday said its decision to seek a ban was based on a High Court ruling on the case two years ago.

Verrier’s fate is the latest twist in long-running and colourful feuds between BGC, Tullett and ICAP, some of the world’s largest brokers that match buyers and sellers of currencies, bonds and swaps in a fiercely competitive market.

The firms have in recent years had regulars feuds, over poaching and patent infringement, many of which have ended up in court.

Britain’s High Court ruled in 2010 that BGC, its president Shaun Lynn and Verrier, had conspired to induce ten Tullett brokers to defect to their firm. Verrier had joined BGC from Tullett a year earlier.

“In light of the High Court’s findings about Verrier’s conduct, we have concluded that he is not fit and proper to be in the UK financial services industry,” said Tracey McDermott, the FSA’s acting director of enforcement and financial crime said on Wednesday.

The court found that “Verrier stuck to the truth where he was able to, but departed from it with equanimity and adroitness where the truth was inconvenient”.

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) – More than 100 London-based bankers scored a rare victory in the battle over bonuses on Wednesday when a judge ruled that Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest lender, breached its legal duties by failing to honour promised payouts worth around 52 million euros ($66 million).

After a legal battle that has lasted more than two-and-a-half years, Commerzbank said it would seek leave to appeal against the decision by High Court Judge Robert Owen, that the bankers were entitled to their pay.

Commerzbank, which has twice been bailed out by German taxpayers, had argued that its now integrated Dresdner Kleinwort investment banking subsidiary was both justified and obliged to slash 2008 bonuses because of its huge losses.

“The bank believes that the decision to reduce discretionary bonuses in light of 6.5 billion euros of losses at Dresdner Kleinwort for 2008 was responsible and justified,” a spokesman said following the verdict.

The ruling flies in the face of government, investor and public scorn at the size of bonuses that have been paid despite disappointing returns and billions spent by taxpayers bailing out banks after the 2008 credit crisis.

“The main argument revolves around whether the announcement (of bonuses) … amounted to a legally binding agreement. It is the bank’s submission that there is every prospect that the Court of Appeal would come to a different view on this matter,” the bank’s spokesman said.

But lawyers for the 104 bankers said the case hinged simply on a brazen attempt by an employer to break promises made to staff, who had been persuaded to remain loyal to the bank in uncertain times with the promise of financial reward.

LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) – Around 100 London-based bankers will hear on Wednesday whether they have won a protracted legal battle against Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest lender, over 52 million euros ($68 million) in unpaid bonuses.

Judge Robert Owen will read out his long-awaited decision at around 0930 GMT in London’s Royal Courts of Justice, three months after the hearing pitched Commerzbank CEO Martin Blessing against former Dresdner investment bank head Stefan Jentzsch.

The row, which kicked off in late 2009, shines a light on a bygone era before bankers’ bonuses became a target of scorn and outrage for politicians and a public forced to prop up banks after the financial crisis. Commerzbank has twice been bailed out by German taxpayers.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said in January London’s bonus culture was “out of control”, and Hector Sants, the outgoing CEO of the Financial Services Authority, has urged bankers to focus on integrity rather than financial reward.

The 104 bankers, whose claims range from around 15,000 euros to 2.6 million, argue that this is a battle about holding an employer to account. Employers, they argue, should not be allowed to renege on promises made to staff.

“This case has been hotly contested by the bank for more than two years, and our clients would welcome an end to what has become a very protracted and expensive piece of litigation,” said Clive Zietman, a partner at UK law firm Stewarts Law, which is representing the bulk of the 104 claimants.

“Whatever ruling the judge makes, it will be studied very carefully by all concerned as it may well have wider implications that go beyond the facts of this case.”

LONDON (Reuters) – Michael Woodford, the sacked CEO-turned-whistleblower at Japan’s disgraced Olympus Corp(7733.T: Quote, Profile, Research), is to publish his memoir of one of Japan’s most high-profile frauds around the time of a key April shareholder vote to approve new managers at the company.

The Japanese edition will be followed in June by an English language account Woodford has likened to a John Grisham thriller.

The 300-page blockbuster is likely to keep up pressure on the company that fired Woodford after he revealed a $1.7 billion accounting fraud last October.

“We want to move the Japanese version as quickly as possible, while it remains topical,” Woodford said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

The Olympus shareholder meeting, scheduled for April 20, will be asked to approve a new management team to take over from the largely discredited board.

Woodford, a 30-year Olympus veteran who cut his teeth at the endoscope and camera maker as a UK salesman, has already kicked off a legal battle in London for wrongful dismissal on grounds of discrimination and whistleblowing.

Woodford, who spent much of his Olympus career in Britain where he owns two properties, hopes to be able to bring the case against Olympus in the East London Employment Tribunal.