Representative Cases

In March 2015, G&E (in conjunction with two other U.S. law firms and Japanese counsel) reached a $92.4 million settlement with Olympus Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of imaging systems and cameras, in the largest settlement of its kind in Japan. The settlement resolves allegations that Olympus falsely misrepresented its finances for over five years and hid large losses by characterizing them in its financials as fees paid to investment advisors for work on corporate acquisitions. This fraud came to light in late 2011 when the company’s former CEO questioned the high advisory fees—the disclosure of which led to a loss of nearly 81% in market capitalization, or more than $6 billion. The accounting scandal also led to government regulatory investigations, millions of dollars in civil penalties, and convictions of company executives across Japan, the UK, and the U.S.