Prosecutors have questioned Seishi Matsuoka, former chairman of the failed Nippon Credit Bank, over allegations the bank window-dressed past earnings reports, it was learned Wednesday.
Matsuoka, 68, served as NCB president from 1987 to 1993, and then as chairman.
According to sources, a special investigative squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office has taken statements from Matsuoka as a witness about NCB's alleged institutional practice of concealing bad loans, starting in 1991, after the collapse of the bubble economy.
Six former top NCB executives, including ex-Chairman Hiroshi Kubota, were arrested last Friday for allegedly falsifying the bank's financial statement for the business year ending in March 1998 in violation of the Securities and Exchange Law.
The six people arrested have admitted to the window-dressing but denied having been aware of its illegality, according to the sources.