Toshiba CEO resigns after accounting scandal

Hisao Tanaka, CEO of Japan’s Toshiba, is stepping down from his position after it became known that the company had been letting accountants record a higher profit than the company actually made for several years.

Toshiba announced the news in a statement in Japanese on its website. It was recently announced that the company has increased its profit by 152 billion yen, converted 1.1 billion euros, over several years, writes The Guardian. Both the current CEO, Hisao Tanaka, and the vice-chairman of the board, Norio Sasaki, are therefore resigning. The board of directors will also be largely replaced,

The scandal could lead to the revision of the company’s financial statements and large fines. An independent party is now investigating the state of affairs at Toshiba. The company is in the top 10 largest companies in Japan. Japan’s finance minister said the scandal is “very regrettable” and that there is a risk that the market will lose confidence in Japanese business.