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Businesses Crime Japan

Foreign Investors Sue Toshiba Over Accounting Scandal (reuters.com) 17

A group of investors, mostly foreign institutions, are suing Toshiba in a Tokyo court for 16.7 billion yen ($162.3 million) in damages, over a $1.3 billion accounting scandal uncovered last year. Reuters adds: Toshiba said in a statement on Thursday that the 45 unnamed shareholders were seeking compensation for damages caused by its "inappropriate accounting". It will take an unspecified provision to cover any eventual payout, Toshiba said. The laptops-to-nuclear conglomerate has been sued by 15 groups and individuals since it first admitted to reporting inflated profits going back to 2008, including Japan's public pension fund. GPIF, the world's biggest pension fund, has been shifting into shares to attempt to boost returns. Thursday's case, however, is the largest - the remaining suits are seeking a combined 15.3 billion yen in compensation. Toshiba is still overcoming the reputational and share price hit of an investigation last year that found widespread accounting errors throughout its sprawling business, blaming a corporate culture in which employees found it difficult to question their superiors.
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Foreign Investors Sue Toshiba Over Accounting Scandal

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  • This is impossible. The Japanese "honor/Bushido that is so ingrained in their culture would make this an impossibility. Truthfulness is a major pillar of Bushido. What a fucking joke.
    • This is impossible. The Japanese "honor/Bushido that is so ingrained in their culture would make this an impossibility. Truthfulness is a major pillar of Bushido. What a fucking joke.

      The Government of Meiji tried to eliminate all of that samurai stuff in the 1870's starting with the Haitorei Edict. Is it any surprise that 140 years later honor isn't valued like it once was. They wanted to westernize Japan, this appears to be another step in that direction.

      In other words, it's a bunch of Bullshido.

    • Well, you might be used to that kind of scandals in Japan, after Fukushima, Olympus, Mitsubishi trucks, Yamaichi sec, Livedoor.....
  • "... a culture in which emoyees found it difficult to question their superiors."

    At least we know that the Far East isn't so different after all.

  • Aren't all of the shareholders harmed by the misrepresentation (barring insider trading)? So shouldn't all of the shareholders by entitled to any settlement/compensation. And since the money is coming from the company, they're all just paying themselves, right? If they already sold their investment, why should the people who didn't sell have to pay twice (they already lost the same value as those who sold). It seems like the only logical target of a suit would be the actual people who are responsible fo
    • by swb ( 14022 )

      Peter, Paul, Mary, Beth, Steve and Saul are all shareholders of a corporation. The management of the corporation does something wrong, causing financial losses for the corporation and the stock price declines as a result of the losses.

      Saul is a wealthy shareholder and the only one who can afford to sue the corporation for his losses. His suit is successful, and he obtains a settlement of $12 (just making the math easier for me), or $2 per shareholder.

      His shareholder liability is just $2, so he nets an add

  • It will be very interesting to see the outcome of a lawsuit seeking billions yens, mainly arranged by foreign institutions, targeting a big Japanese corporation in a Japanese courtroom.

God help those who do not help themselves. -- Wilson Mizner

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