Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie has owned up to part of the accounting fraud charges against him and the Internet and financial services firm for the first time since his January arrest, according to prosecution sources.
Horie recently admitted having padded Livedoor's sales figures in 2004 by about 1.58 billion yen, which was booked as profit from a false deal with a company Livedoor was then in talks with over a possible acquisition, the sources alleged.
However, Horie continues to deny that Livedoor counted as sales the profits it gained from selling stocks issued to buy other companies through share-swaps -- an action that would constitute a violation of the Securities and Exchange Law.