Former Internet mogul Takafumi Horie

Wearing a dark suit and tie instead of his usual T-shirt, Horie, the 33-year-old founder and former president of Livedoor Co., took the stand briefly Sept. 4 to plead not guilty to the charges of securities laws violations against him.

"I feel the prosecutors' charges are full of malice," Horie said calmly.

During the following day's testimony, Hiroshi Onishi, president of an investment fund, said he was ordered on several occasions by a Livedoor executive to sell shares in the company to other firms he suspected were affiliated with Livedoor.

"I thought that they wanted to window-dress their earnings," he said, adding that he followed through on what he considered irregular trading practices partly because of the large commissions he stood to earn.

The Japan Times Weekly: Sept. 9, 2006
(C) All rights reserved