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TOKYO, April 2, 2009 (AFP) - A former dotcom tycoon and founder of the Livedoor web portal Takafumi Horie lashed out at Japanese prosecutors on Thursday, accusing them of cooking up a 2006 fraud scandal to shoot him down.
The brash entrepreneur was accused of falsely reporting a pre-tax profit of five billion yen (S$77 million) to hide actual losses through an elaborately-crafted acquisition scheme.
In an unusual reaction in Japan, where it is standard for defendants to apologise in return for more lenient treatment, 36-year-old Horie has vigorously protested his innocence throughout the legal battle.
Horie, who is free on bail, lost his appeal against a two-and-a-half-year prison term last year and immediately filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.
In what these days is a rare media appearance, the once high-flying Horie told a press conference, "I believe the Livedoor incident was illegally crafted."
He has published a book titled "Total Resistance" about his legal battle. "I needed three years to finish the book," he said. "I needed the time not to write but to understand what I was found guilty of."
"I was told I was guilty by prosecutors who argued that I should have been aware of some technical accounting specifics, which only accountants or specialists would know," he said. "This is what this case is all about."
Local media closely covered the Livedoor scandal, which sent the Tokyo stock market plunging in 2006 and forced it to close early for the first time ever.
Horie said he believes Japan's top court would find him innocent.
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