Japan has been abuzz with the unusually harsh prison term handed to former Internet mogul Takafumi Horie -- and the slap on the wrist given to scandal-tainted brokerage Nikko Cordial in another high-profile case of accounting fraud that, in monetary terms, was some eight times greater than Horie's firm.
Horie, founder of Internet portal Livedoor Co., was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Friday for violating securities laws and falsifying earnings. Four other former top executives at Livedoor have been arrested and put on trial. Their verdicts will be announced Thursday.
In contrast, no one at Nikko Cordial, which has admitted inflating profits for its previous two business years, has been charged.