Latest Technology News:
Technology news from around the world subscribe to our RSS feed.
Livedoor founder sentenced to two and half years in prison
16/03/2007 - The 34-year-old founder of Livedoor, Takafumi Horie, has been sentenced to two years and a half in prison for violating securities laws. Horie, who entered a not guilty plea and is expected to appeal, claimed that his trial was politically motivated.Horie's sentence is considered harsh as the majority of people convicted of white collar crime in Japan receive suspended sentences.
Prosecutors accused the internet tycoon of manipulating the books of Livedoor in order to inflate his company's stock price.
Horie was found guilty of accounting fraud for falsely reporting pre-tax profits of more than $40 million in 2004 in order to hide losses and to boost Livedoor's share price.
The trial, which has taken six months, attracted a lot of attention due to Horie's celebrity status and because it was seen as a test case as to how serious the authorities are about seeking transparency in the stock market.
Other executives at the company had pleaded guilty but Horie continued to claim his innocence throughout the trial.
He insisted he had been targeted by those in power because he challenged the establishment with his aggressive stock market tactics.
During his career he had upset much of the Japanese business community with his attempts to buy a Baseball team and a television network.
He remained defiant during the trial and in December 2006 launched an attack on the cliquey nature of Japanese business: "I called them a club of old men, but that's exactly what they are.
"It's a world of connections, that's it. If you're young, have no connections and you're from a modest family, there's nothing you can do, your whole life."
Link to this news article using the url below:
http://www.pulsewebhosting.com/news/livedoor-founder-sentenced-to-two-and-half-years-in-prison/56/
Published Date: 2007-03-16 14:29:08Subscribe to our RSS News feed:
Web Hosting RSS
