Japanese camera and endoscope maker Olympus Corp. said on Wednesday that it would be prosecuted by UK's Serious Fraud Office for breaching Section 501 of the UK Companies Act. Olympus allegedly provided "misleading, false or deceptive" information in its Gyrus Group's financial accounts dating fiscal years 2009 and 2010. The announcement came on the heels of the ending of the two-year investigation the Britain's fraud regulator had conducted on the fraud allegations.
The investigation was precipitated by one of Olympus' acquisitions, UK medical equipment maker Gyrus Group. In 2011, a USD1.7 billion accounting fraud was uncovered by then-president and newly-elected chief executive Michael Woodford, who was immediately ousted from his position shortly after coming out as a whistleblower. Three former executives were handed guilty sentences by the courts of Japan in July.
Olympus had been cutting corners of its operations after the fraud scandal. The Japanese firm announced in June of last year that it would be cutting 7% of its worldwide workforce, or around 2,700 jobs. The company would also be scrapping 40% of its 30 manufacturing plants by end of the first quarter of March 2015 because of investment losses starting from the 1990s.
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