The Tokyo High Court said Monday it will grant bail of ¥600 million to Takafumi Horie, founder of Livedoor Co.
On Friday, the high court upheld a Tokyo District Court ruling sentencing the 35-year-old Horie to 2 1/2 years in prison for his involvement in accounting fraud and other breaches of securities law.
Horie's counsel filed an immediate appeal with the Supreme Court.
Since he had already paid bail money totaling ¥500 million after the lower court ruled against him, Horie paid the remaining ¥100 million.
The high court's ruling without suspension nullified the bail granted to Horie earlier, so his defense team demanded he be granted bail anew. At the moment, the former Livedoor chief is not in detention.
The high court, in upholding the lower court ruling, said that Horie conspired with other Livedoor executives and padded the group's pretax balance by booking some ¥5 billion in profit for the year through September 2004 when it should have showed a ¥300 million loss.
The court said Horie was deeply involved in the crimes, based on testimony by former Livedoor Chief Financial Officer Ryoji Miyauchi.