Olympus Corp. (TYO:7733) is taking its former chairman and at least 2 executives to court over the company’s $1.7 billion accounting scandal.
The Japanese endoscopy giant filed suit against former Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa Sunday in Tokyo, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.
In addition, Executive Vice President Hisashi Mori and former company auditor Hideo Yamada, were said to be named in a suit.
Olympus officials said they were considering filing suits against current and former directors in connection with the accounting scandal that has plagued the firm since late last year.
In November 2011, the company admitted to channeling money through investment funds to hide its investment losses.
The technology titan revealed that nearly $1.7 billion in possibly illegal payments were used to conceal the losses over the last 2 decades.
On Friday, former Olympus CEO, Michael Woodford, abandoned his quest to regain the top seat at the company, saying he plans to sue for wrongful termination.
Woodford, Olympus’ first and only non-Japanese CEO, was ousted after only 2 weeks on the job after he blew the whistle on a decades-long accounting scandal late last year.