Fujitsu’s former president Kuniaki Nozoe has begun legal proceedings against the company, saying he was forced to quit his position after Fujitsu accused him of unfounded links to organized crime.
The electronics giant received notice from Nozoe on 29 March. A Fujitsu spokesman has said Nozoe is seeking compensation and the restoration of his reputation, and intends to sue several different Fujitsu officials.
He has also asked that Fujitsu sue some of its own executives, as he believes the poor handling of his departure cost the company around five billion yen (£35 million).
Nozoe resigned in September 2009, originally citing health reasons, before requesting in March that his resignation be nullified.
Fujitsu released a statement on 6 March saying that he had actually resigned because of continued dealings with an unnamed third party Fujitsu believes has an “unfavourable reputation,” and that his ill health at the time had been used as the reason in order to save face.
The dealings concern Nozoe’s link to a fund involved in the sale of Internet provider Nifty Corp, a Fujitsu subsidiary. Fujitsu said that it was investigating the unnamed fund, and that if the investigation was correct, he would be dismissed, but if he were to resign it would accepted.
However Nozoe stated today that the allegations were false and that he was pressured into resigning for over an hour during the meeting.
“An abnormal situation like this, in which I was forced to resign in a closed meeting room with fabricated reasons, should never happen again at Fujitsu,” Nozoe said. “It’s not just me, but also my family, my friends and those at Fujitsu who supported me that have been deeply hurt by this.”
Nozoe’s lawyer Kei Hata said that he is seeking to set up an independent committee to investigate those playing a role in the allegations, and would be seeking several hundred million yen in compensation.
Fujitsu has made it clear that it is not accusing Nozoe of any illegal activity, but that the resignation was more a matter of reputation and judgment.
An investigation by the Tokyo Stock Exchange concluded last month that the conflicting reasons given by Nozoe and Fujitsu didn’t mislead investors enough to constitute a sanction.
Under Japanese law the company’s auditors have 60 days to make a decision on the case and act, after which time shareholders can sue the the executives directly.