Society

Tokyo prosecutors allege SMBC Nikko Securities illegally boosted stock prices

Mar 25 (NHK) - Tokyo prosecutors say a vice president of SMBC Nikko Securities conspired with senior staff members to illegally boost the stock price of a pharmaceutical firm by placing large buy orders.

Sato Toshihiro was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of manipulating share prices in violation of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

Sources say Sato and other senior executives, including a former head of the equity division, Yamada Makoto, are suspected of placing orders to buy 100,000 shares of a Tokyo-based pharmaceutical firm for about 5 million dollars. Yamada, who was in charge of proprietary trading, has been indicted on other stock price manipulation charges. SMBC Nikko bought about 40,000 shares.

The prosecutors suspect Sato and others aimed to boost the stock price of the pharmaceutical firm to make a profit.

The sources say Sato told prosecutors in voluntary questioning that he had been informed of the transactions but was not aware they were illegal.

SMBC Nikko Securities President Kondo Yuichiro apologized at a news conference on Thursday. He said he hopes to restore trust in the company by investigating the reasons behind the scandal and implementing measures to remedy the situation.

SMBC Nikko has increased the number of staff who are in charge of checking trades, and will also introduce a new system to prevent suspicious transactions from next month.

The company has also set up a panel of lawyers to investigate the cause of the scandal, and plans to introduce additional preventive measures based on the panel's findings.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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