Serious Fraud Office drops Olympus case
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today dropped its case into Gyrus Group, a British subsidiary of Japanese camera maker Olympus, after the Court of Appeal decided in February that misleading auditors is not a criminal offence under English law.
At a hearing today, the UK's fraud prosecutors said that they would offer no evidence, ending the case.
The SFO has said that they are also unable to prosecute anybody on an individual basis as Japan does not extradite its nationals.
Olympus's accounting scandal, which was worth over $1bn, came to light in 2011 when former British chief executive Michael Woodford notified the authorities of irregularities after being let go from the company.
Olympus has been contacted for comment but is yet to respond.