A major witness in the trial of Internet maverick Takafumi Horie contradicted his earlier statements Wednesday and testified that he believes the entrepreneur didn't know about the dubious dealings he is charged with.
Ryoji Miyauchi, former chief financial officer of startup Livedoor Co., made the comments in one of the biggest trials Japan has had in years.
A hush fell over the Tokyo District Court when Miyauchi, in response to questioning by prosecutors, said Horie told him he didn't know about a scheme that used fabricated sales to inflate earnings to gain illicit cash from stock swaps.