The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, after a three-year probe, asked prosecutors Friday to indict Livedoor Co., former President Takafumi Horie, three other executives, and advertising subsidiary Livedoor Marketing Co. for lying to investors in order to inflate the stock price of the subsidiary.
Investigators also believe foreign brokers helped Livedoor channel money from a possibly illegal 1 billion yen sale of an investment union to offshore special purpose companies. They are currently examining the case to see whether the foreign firms violated such laws as the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law.
"Investigations will continue. We believe there have been more violations" of the securities law, an SESC official said. The securities watchdog suspects Livedoor also falsified its earnings in 2004.