Investigators raid three Olympus subsidiaries in Tokyo

The Tokyo offices of three small Olympus Corp subsidiaries were raided by dozens of black-suited investigators today. These were among the 20 sites searched in a probe of the $1.7-billion accounting scandal that threatened the once-proud Japanese medical device maker's survival.

Other teams could be seen waiting patiently for the signal to enter a luxury condominium, the home of a former company president, as they piled out from a van in an underground car park at Olympus' high-rise headquarters.

The raids, which were notified in advance to the media, formed part of a rare joint probe by Tokyo prosecutors, police and financial regulators targeting the 92-year-old company that had admitted to concealing M&A losses via questionable fund transfers and other accounting tricks that stretched back two decades.

Investigations picked up after a panel of experts appointed by Olympus to probe the scandal said early this week that the scheme had been masterminded by two former senior executives with the help of investment bankers.

It also found that three ex-presidents, including Tsuyoshi Kikukawa who resigned in October over the scandal and whose condo home was raided today, were in the know of the cover-up.

Acknowledging the raids in a statement, the company said it would continue to cooperate fully with investigative authorities to bring the facts to light.