The president of Japan's scandal-hit Olympus, who has been sued by his own company and disgraced over a cover-up of US$1.7 billion in losses, said Wednesday he would resign -- but only in April.
Shuichi Takayama bowed in apology at a news conference in Tokyo and said he would step down after an extraordinary general meeting (EGM). The firm had earlier said he would be leaving, but had not given specific details.
In a case that has rocked global confidence in Japanese corporate governance, Olympus has admitted that it used over-priced acquisitions and consultancy fees to hide losses it had made on earlier investments.
In one element of the scheme, Olympus paid US$687 million to a little-known financial adviser based in the Cayman Islands when it bought British medical instruments company Gyrus for US$2 billion in 2008. (Wall Street Journal)
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