Post by Sapphire Capital on Jul 26, 2008 4:26:23 GMT 4
July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie, the Internet entrepreneur who waged a hostile takeover battle with Japan's biggest media group, lost an appeal of his conviction for securities fraud.
The Tokyo High Court said today it upheld Horie's conviction by a lower court, which carries a two-and-a-half year prison term. Horie will appeal to the Supreme Court today, his defense counsel said after the session ended. Horie didn't appear in court.
Horie, 35, was found guilty last year of inflating profits at Livedoor. The total market value of companies on Japan's Jasdaq Securities Exchange startup market has fallen 45 percent since investigators raided Livedoor's offices in January 2006.
``He harmed Japan's stock market,'' the chief judge Tetsuji Nagaoka said. ``It was a heinous act to sugarcoat his company as if it were growing. The sentencing is unavoidable as he never showed his regret nor apologized.''
Horie, who captured public attention with his outspoken comments and casual dress, used his company to seek control of a radio network that owned 32 percent of Fuji Television Network Inc. He also tried to acquire a Japanese baseball team and stood as an independent candidate for parliament before being arrested.
The Tokyo High Court said today it upheld Horie's conviction by a lower court, which carries a two-and-a-half year prison term. Horie will appeal to the Supreme Court today, his defense counsel said after the session ended. Horie didn't appear in court.
Horie, 35, was found guilty last year of inflating profits at Livedoor. The total market value of companies on Japan's Jasdaq Securities Exchange startup market has fallen 45 percent since investigators raided Livedoor's offices in January 2006.
``He harmed Japan's stock market,'' the chief judge Tetsuji Nagaoka said. ``It was a heinous act to sugarcoat his company as if it were growing. The sentencing is unavoidable as he never showed his regret nor apologized.''
Horie, who captured public attention with his outspoken comments and casual dress, used his company to seek control of a radio network that owned 32 percent of Fuji Television Network Inc. He also tried to acquire a Japanese baseball team and stood as an independent candidate for parliament before being arrested.