Whistleblower at Olympus resigns from board

MICHAEL Woodford, who was fired as chief executive of Japanese camera and medical equipment company Olympus after blowing the whistle on dubious spending, is now resigning from the board.

Olympus’ bookkeeping is now under investigation in Japan, the US and Britain. The fiasco has evolved into one of Japan’s biggest corporate scandals.

Woodford said the decision was difficult because he still cares about Olympus and hopes it will come clean.

Woodford was still a member of the board because dismissal from it can only come from shareholders.

Olympus admitted last month to hiding investment losses from its investors for two decades and using some of $1.3 billion (€960m) spent on questionable deals to aid in the cover-up.

“It has been a difficult decision for me to resign from a company that I have devoted my entire life to,” said Woodford, 51, a Briton who worked at Olympus for about three decades and became a rare foreigner to head a major Japanese company.

But he said he lost hope that the Olympus board would move toward reform after seeing a November 28 message from Olympus’ new president, Shuichi Takayama. He said he now thinks that the Olympus board will not change.

He also said stakeholders should decide who should lead Olympus and called for a shareholders’ meeting. He will be working with stakeholders to propose a new board, he said.

Woodford, fired on October 14, has called for the entire board to resign and to bring in outside members to the board for more transparency.

Woodford was in Japan last week to speak with Japanese prosecutors and police and also spoke with the Olympus board during the visit. He said he is also speaking with US and British authorities.

Speculation is rife that the amount that Olympus has falsified in its financial reports could be massive. Japanese magazine Facta was first to report on the dubious money.

Olympus must submit a proper financial report by December 14, or it risks being delisted by the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Olympus shares have plunged over the last several weeks from their value before Woodford’s firing.