Olympus faces criminal sanctions - Telegraph The Securities Exchange and Surveillance Commission (SESC) action comes after Olympus disclosed a $1.7bn (£1.1bn) accounting fraud. The company made the disclosure only after British chief executive Michael Woodford blew the whistle on the wrongdoing. The SESC has asked that the Japanese public prosecutor file criminal charges against those involved in the fraud. The criminal action would centre on the company allegedly filing false financial statements in 2007 and 2008. According to Reuters, Shin Ushijima, a former Japanese prosecutor, claimed the filing of the complaint meant that prosecutors had already agreed to prosecute. "Most likely, the company will accept the charge, because the company's main purpose is to recover as quickly as possible, so they want to avoid any unnecessary conflict," he said. Olympus said: "We take the commission's decision seriously and will continue our efforts to strengthen our corporate governance." The securities regulator named former chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, former executive vice president Hisashi Mori and a former auditor Hideo Yamada in the complaints.