New legal row facing Olympus
AILING Japanese technology firm Olympus is suing its president and three of its former directors over the $1.7bn (£1.1bn) accounting scandal.
The maker of cameras and medical equipment has filed proceedings against its president, Shuichi Takayama (pictured), along with three former executives identified by investigators as having engineered or helped cover up the fraud at the firm, at Tokyo district court.
Takayama is planning to resign as a result of the lawsuit. Olympus confirmed the suits had been filed and said more details would be revealed today.
On Friday Michael Woodford, the Briton who was fired after flagging up suspect payments, dropped his battle to be reinstated. He said he would sue Olympus for unfair dismissal.
It comes after an outside panel found ex-chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, former executive vice president Hisashi Mori and former auditor Hideo Yamada had played leading roles in a 13-year scheme to hide losses from Olympus investors.