Japan's Internet mogul Horie jailed for fraud
Disgraced dotcom tycoon Takafumi Horie was sentenced Friday to two and a half years in prison over a fraud scandal that also put Japan's new generation of free-wheeling capitalists on trial.
The flamboyant 34-year-old entrepreneur, who at the height of his fame boasted he could take over Sony, was accused of conspiring to falsely report profits to hide losses at his once high-flying Livedoor firm.
The spectacular fall from grace for the former media darling gripped the nation and briefly sent the Tokyo stock market into freefall last year, forcing Asia's largest bourse to close early for the first time.
The sentence was read out moments after Horie, trailed by hundreds of reporters and television helicopters, entered the Tokyo District Court wearing a dark suit with an open-neck shirt.
Horie, who put on a tie in the courtroom, flipped passively through the written verdict as it was read out. He immediately appealed the sentence.
"Given the nature of the case, particularly heavy responsibility lies in misguiding general investors' judgement by giving the appearance of growth," Judge Toshiyuki Kosaka said. "It is appropriate to have a prison term."
Horie, who became a media celebrity for his brash business ways, showed no emotion as his sentence was read out. He later excused himself, saying he did not feel well, but returned minutes later to the courtroom.
After reading the verdict, the judge told him he had received a letter from the mother of a person with disabilities who was inspired by Horie's "grand dream".
"With the money he made, he bought shares in Livedoor and he still has them," the judge told Horie, whose company has been delisted.
"Today we found you guilty but that doesn't mean we are depriving you of your life. I would like you to admit the crime and use your abilities to make a fresh start in the future," Kosaka said.
The chubby, spiky-haired tycoon, who famously wore a tee-shirt to negotiate with men in suits and drove a Ferrari, has called his trial revenge by a rattled establishment. Prosecutors had sought a four-year prison term.
Four other executives of the Livedoor firm admitted to fraud allegations but Horie steadfastly insisted on his innocence, an unusual practice in Japan, which has a near 100-percent conviction rate.
Horie "was mounting something of a PR campaign" defending himself during his six-month trial, instead of the more common strategy of showing contrition, said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo.
"I think he did step on toes and that probably hurt him," he said.
Horie and Livedoor as a company were accused of falsely reporting a pre-tax profit of some five billion yen (43 million dollars) for the year to September 2004 to hide actual losses of 310 million yen.
The company, which has deposed Horie, will hear its own fate next week. It issued a statement saying it accepted the ruling and would work "to ensure strict compliance with the law and to strengthen internal management."
Television stations offered live coverage of the verdict with reporters rushing out of the courtroom to breathlessly announce the prison term to the nation.
Fuji Television -- which Horie had unsuccessfully tried to take over -- even interviewed the owner of his favourite Korean restaurant.
The jail term "sounded rather long, but I suppose it cannot be helped," said Momoharu Tanaka, who said he would keep a dish on the menu dedicated to Horie.
Together with fund manager Yoshiaki Murakami, another fallen corporate raider, Horie brought hostile takeover bids to a country that has traditionally shunned corporate confrontation.
He built one of Japan's top Internet empires with an aggressive expansion drive, including high-profile but unsuccessful bids for Fuji, the nation's most watched TV network, and a professional baseball team.
Horie also ran but failed to win a seat in parliament, with the blessing of then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi.
AFP
