Former auditors of Japanese electronics giant Olympus (Xetra: 856840 - news) , KPMG and Ernst & Young, have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the $1.5bn (£977m) accounting scandal gripping the company.
An independent panel set up to investigate multi-million dollar payments used to cover up previous year losses said the accountants were not to blame.
Instead the panel found five former directors culpable for the accounting scandal.
The finding means neither E&Y or KPMG will face any legal action from Olympus. Instead the five directors could face writs designed to claw back some of the $110m the company estimated it lost due to the accounting problems.
The company announced yesterday that it had filed suits at the Tokyo District Court against the individuals, all of whom worked on auditing the accounts on an individual basis rather than for one of the audit firms.
Last week Olympus announced it was suing 19 current and former directors including former president Shuichi Takayama.
The accounting scandal came to light after the British former chief executive Michael Woodford blew the whistle on the payments. Although the company initially denied any wrongdoing it later admitted trying to cover up prior year losses.
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