Japan asks Switzerland for assistance in Livedoor investigation

Japan has asked Switzerland for legal assistance in its inquiries relating to the embattled Internet portal Livedoor and its founder Takafumi Horie, authorities here said Wednesday. Officials from Japan 's stock exchange oversight authorities have made contact with Switzerland 's Federal Banking Commission, said spokeswoman Tanja Kocher, confirming details from the weekly Weltwoche.

Photo: Japan asks Switzerland for assistance in Livedoor investigation

No formal request has yet been lodged, Kocher said, but declined to give further details of the inquiry. Such requests often are for information on Swiss bank accounts. The 33-year-old Horie was arrested in January and indicted with his former colleagues last week for using stock swaps and stock splits to artificially inflate stocks, and of giving false information about earnings of a subsidiary, reports the AP.

N.U.