Olympus, whistleblowing ex-chief agree settlement

Japanese camera maker Olympus has reached a settlement with whistleblowing former chief Michael Woodford over an unfair dismissal claim he filed in Britain, the company said Wednesday.

"Both sides will report to the Employment Tribunal (in London) once the agreement is ratified by the Olympus board," a spokesman in Tokyo told AFP, but he declined to confirm a reported 10 million pound ($15.6 million) payout.

The tribunal had been suspended since Monday so the two sides could negotiate terms for an out-of-court settlement, said the Olympus spokesman.

"Both sides have agreed that Woodford will discontinue the lawsuit once the Olympus board ratifies the terms for the settlement," he said.

The Financial Times reported that had Woodford served out the remainder of his contract with Olympus, he would have received a 10 million pounds salary.

Japan's Kyodo news agency said the Olympus board meeting was set for June 8.

Woodford, the first non-Japanese person to lead the camera and medical equipment maker, was fired in October after questioning $1.7 billion in losses at the firm.

In April during an emergency general meeting of shareholders in Tokyo, Woodford demanded to know why he was sacked shortly before exposing a scheme that saw huge losses moved off the firm's balance sheet.

Olympus executives rebuffed the demand by the Briton, who later filed the lawsuit for unfair dismissal with the London tribunal.

The scandal has led to the arrest of former top executives at the firm, including the president, and hammered Japan's corporate governance image.

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