Takafumi Horie, the former chief of Japanese internet company Livedoor, who shook up corporate Japan with his aggressive business tactics, has been charged with violating securities laws.
Horie was arrested on January 23, just months after running unsuccessfully for parliament, on suspicion of trying to boost share prices by spreading false information, issuing new shares to 'acquire' firms already under his control and then selling them for a profit to pad Livedoor's books. Media reports said Horie, 33, had denied any illegal actions.
Three other former Livedoor executives have also been charged with breaking securities law.
The case exposed the inadequacy of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's trading systems, prompted loud calls for a beefed-up securities watchdog, and embarrassed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi because his ruling party backed Horie in a failed bid for a seat in parliament last September.
A raid on Livedoor's offices on January 16 rocked the Tokyo share market as investors pulled the plug on other web companies and a flood of 'sell' orders threatened to bring down the exchange's trading systems. Prices have rebounded since, but Livedoor's own shares are down more than 90% from their highs in late December.
