Scandal-tainted Olympus Corp. is considering suing current and former executives for compensation totaling about 90 billion yen ($1.2 billion), while its new president is considering resigning, a source familiar with the matter said.
The camera and endoscope maker is preparing a suit to help cover damages from a $1.7 billion accounting fraud that has savaged the 92-year-old firm’s finances, market capitalization, and reputation, the source said.
The suit is likely to include current executives who failed to spot the 13-year cover-up or question exorbitant advisory fees made for acquisitions, he said.
Olympus said in a statement that it would announce the contents of any suit on Tuesday. It declined to comment on whether its President Shuichi Takayama planned to step down.
Takayama, who took the helm of the company in October, has resisted calls that he resign. He has said he was not involved with hiding losses, and that his first responsibility was to rebuild the company’s business after the scandal wiped out 60 percent of its market capitalization.
