The former president of Yamaichi Securities Co. said under oath Tuesday that a "hint" from a senior Finance Ministry official led the firm to compensate losses to a client and then hide them off its balance sheets.
The off-the-book debts eventually led to the brokerage collapsing last November. The firm, then one of Japan's Big Four, closed for good at the end of March.
Atsuo Miki was giving sworn testimony before the House of Representatives Budget Committee regarding whether the bureaucrat, former Securities Bureau Director General Nobuhiko Matsuno, offered suggestions as to how to settle a compensation problem between Yamaichi and Tokyu Department Store Co.