A private Hong Kong company has emerged as a key player in the ongoing corporate accounting scandal at Japanese camera maker Olympus.
The company - wholly owned by Olympus - played a central role in 2008 deals worth more than HK$6 billion to buy up businesses in Japan at inflated prices, an independent committee's investigation into accounting malfeasance found.
Olympus Finance Hong Kong was part of a complex scheme by the Japanese firm's top executives to deliberately hide years of accumulated investment losses totalling more than US$1.5 billion, the committee said in its 200-page report, published last week.
In March and April 2008, Olympus spent more than HK$6 billion to buy control of three Japanese firms, - Altis, Humalabo and News Chef - paying inflated prices and exorbitant fees to its financial adviser.
Olympus Finance Hong Kong (since renamed Olympus Corporation of Asia Pacific) played a central role as a holding company in the deals, accounting for almost one-quarter of the total acquisition price, the report said.
In the following two years, Olympus wrote down the value of the deals almost to zero, it said.