The Tokyo Stock Exchange may delist Livedoor Co. if prosecutors serve fresh arrest warrants to its former executives for the company's alleged accounting frauds, TSE President Taizo Nishimuro said Monday.
The TSE usually delists a firm following the filing of an accusation of criminal conduct by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission or an indictment from prosecutors. But Nishimuro's comments suggested the bourse might not follow that procedure in the case of Livedoor, whose share-price crash has had a big impact on the TSE.
"If prosecutors' charges are trustworthy, or if (Livedoor's) foul play becomes evident, then that breaches the rules for listing," Nishimuro said.
The Internet and financial services firm is listed on the TSE's Mothers market for startup companies.
Prosecutors arrested former Livedoor President Takafumi Horie and three other former executives last month and last week indicted them on charges of market manipulation and accounting fraud by a Livedoor subsidiary.
Investigators are expected to serve new warrants against them as early as Tuesday, suspecting the parent company also engaged in earnings window-dressing.
Meanwhile, shares of Livedoor and its group companies suffered huge losses Monday on the news Horie would soon be served a fresh arrest warrant for allegedly fabricating the parent company's financial figures for the business year through September 2004.
All publicly traded Livedoor group firms except Media Exchange drew active selling.
Livedoor fell 19 yen, or 21.84 percent, from Friday's closing quote to end the day at 68 yen, while Livedoor Marketing went limit-down to 80 yen, a decline of 17.35 percent, to close at 381 yen.
The four other Livedoor listed firms are Livedoor Auto, Cecile, Turbolinux and Dynacity.
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