TOKYO, March 28 (Kyodo) — Shareholders of Olympus Corp. sued the company Wednesday, seeking a total of 373 million yen in damages over their losses on a plunge in the Olympus share price after the revelation of its investment loss cover-up scandal.
Following the 59 individuals aged between 34 and 80 and two corporate shareholders, far more shareholders are expected to join the suit in the next few months, their chief lawyer Chohei Yonekawa said.
The suit said the camera and medical equipment maker falsified financial statements over 10 years through March 2011 to cover up massive investment losses from 1998.
The plaintiffs "bought Olympus shares without knowing of the falsification until the company announced it on Nov. 8 last year, and incurred losses on the later share price plunge," it said.
The average loss per plaintiff stands at about 5.5 million yen. The largest loss is about 74 million yen.
Meanwhile, prosecutors on Wednesday indicted three former Olympus executives, including former Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, 71, and the company itself for the falsification over a three-year period through March 2011 and a former securities company employee for his involvement as adviser in part of the illegal act.