TOKYO (Reuters) – Dozens of black-suited investigators, marching double-file, raided the office building of three small Olympus Corp (7733.T: Quote, Profile, Research) subsidiaries on Wednesday, one of 20 sites searched in a probe of a $1.7 billion accounting scandal that threatens the once-proud Japanese medical device maker’s survival.

Other teams were seen waiting patiently to be buzzed inside a luxury condominium – the home of a former company president – and piling from a van in an underground car park at Olympus’ high-rise headquarters.

TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Japanese prosecutors raided
offices of Olympus Corp and the home of a former
executive on Wednesday in a probe into a $1.7 billion accounting
scandal that has threatened the survival of the once-proud
camera and medical equipment maker.

Tokyo prosecutors, police and financial regulators have
joined forces in a rare joint investigation of the 92-year-old
company, which has admitted to hiding huge investment losses via
questionable M&A deals and other accounting tricks stretching
back over two decades.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s disgraced Olympus Corp said on Thursday it would consider reinstating Michael Woodford, the British chief executive it sacked two months ago and who blew the whistle on a fraud that has left it weakened and in need of fresh capital.

Woodford’s return would mark a dramatic climb-down by the existing board of Olympus, which had unanimously fired him in October after he had queried the firm’s dubious book-keeping. The firm later admitted to uncovering a $1.7 billion fraud.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s disgraced Olympus Corp (7733.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it would consider reinstating Michael Woodford, the British chief executive it sacked two months ago and who blew the whistle on a fraud that has left it weakened and in need of fresh capital.

Woodford’s return would mark a dramatic climb-down by the existing board of Olympus, which had unanimously fired him in October after he had queried the firm’s dubious book-keeping. The firm later admitted to uncovering a $1.7 billion fraud.

TOKYO, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Japan’s disgraced Olympus
Corp said on Thursday it would consider reinstating
Michael Woodford, the British chief executive it sacked two
months ago and who blew the whistle on a fraud that has left it
weakened and in need of fresh capital.

Woodford’s return would mark a dramatic climb-down by the
existing board of Olympus, which had unanimously fired him in
October after he had queried the firm’s dubious book-keeping.
The firm later admitted to uncovering a $1.7 billion fraud.

TOKYO, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Japan’s disgraced Olympus
Corp said on Thursday it would consider reinstating
Michael Woodford, the British chief executive it sacked two
months ago and who blew the whistle on a fraud that has left it
weakened and in need of fresh capital.

Woodford’s return would mark a dramatic climb-down by the
existing board of Olympus, which had unanimously fired him in
October after he had queried the firm’s dubious book-keeping.
The firm later admitted to uncovering a $1.7 billion fraud.

TOKYO, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Olympus’s external
auditors are set to sign off restated accounts this week, the
Asahi newspaper reported on Tuesday, clearing a key hurdle in
the Japanese group’s struggle to survive a $1.7 billion
accounting fraud.

Separately, ousted chief executive Michael Woodford said he
could win a battle for control of the company, adding he had the
support of two major shareholders in the cameras and medical
equipment maker.

TOKYO (Reuters) – External auditors of Japan’s disgraced Olympus Corp are set to sign off on its restated accounts this week, the Asahi newspaper said on Tuesday, clearing one key hurdle in the firm’s struggle to survive a $1.7 billion accounting fraud.

The maker of cameras and medical equipment must publish its second-quarter results by Wednesday in order to keep its stock-market listing and avoid being cut off from capital markets, and will also submit its corrected accounts for the past five years.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is unlikely to make sweeping reforms to rules on corporate governance in the wake of the Olympus Corp accounting scandal because of a largely hostile business lobby and a lack of political will to clip the wings of top executives.

The $1.7 billion scheme to hide two decades of investment losses at Olympus (7733.T: Quote, Profile, Research) is one of Japan’s worst accounting frauds and highlights long-standing criticism of lax corporate governance, yet analysts say only minor reform is likely.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is unlikely to make sweeping reforms to rules on corporate governance in the wake of the Olympus Corp accounting scandal, as there is a largely hostile business lobby and a lack of political will to clip the wings of top executives.

Olympus’s $1.7 billion scheme to hide two decades of investment losses stands as one of Japan’s worst accounting frauds and highlights long-standing criticism of lax corporate governance, yet analysts say only minor reform is likely.