Financial scandals in Japan have a rinse-and-repeat quality. Investigators raid companies. Disgraced executives bow apologetically before the cam-eras and head off into early retirement. Then the cycle starts anew….
Financial scandals aren’t exactly unheard of in the U.S. The difference is that in the states convicted tipsters often do serious jail time. Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta could spend up to 20 years in prison after a New York jury convicted him of passing on privileged information to hedge-fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. In Japan, regulators can only impose modest monetary penalties on investors who profit from leaked information.
via Japan’s Insider-Trading Carousel – Businessweek
