加ノーテル社不正会計事件、元経営幹部に無罪判決（The Globe and Mailより）

Three former Nortel executives found not guilty of fraud

カナダの通信機器会社ノーテルの不正会計事件（2002年と2003年の決算を訂正）で、3人の元幹部に無罪判決が下ったという記事。会計操作は犯罪行為にまで至っていないとされています。

Three former top executives of Nortel Networks Corp. were found not guilty of fraud, closing a key chapter in a financial scandal that helped bring down the once-mighty telecommunications giant.

In a ruling Monday, Mr. Justice Frank Marrocco of the Ontario Superior Court found that the accounting manipulations that caused the company to restate its earnings for 2002 and 2003 did not cross the line into criminal behaviour.

この事件はカナダにおける過去10年間で最大の企業不正といわれています。容疑となっていた不正の内容は、役員賞与や自己株による報酬を得るために、引当金を操作して、会社の収益性が回復したように見せかけていたというものでした。

For police and prosecutors, the ruling brings an unsuccessful end to what is likely Canada’s biggest corporate fraud case of the past decade. The case focused on allegations that senior Nortel executives had altered accounting reserves to push the company back to profitability, in order to trigger more than $12-million in bonuses and share payments for themselves.

判決では、引当金水増しは、利益目標を達成するために20年にもわたって行われていたが、そのような会計処理を行うという決定は、不正でもなく、ノーテル社の規模からして重要でもなかったとされています。

Judge Marrocco concluded that Nortel had a 20-year history of setting up inflated accounting reserves that could be used to meet earnings targets, but also said the accounting decisions that formed the basis for the Crown’s case were either not fraudulent or were not material for a company the size of Nortel.

弁護側は、被告が行った会計上の決定は、その時点では適切であり、監査人であるDeloitte & Toucheも認めていたと主張していました。判決でもその主張がほぼ認められたようです。

During the trial, lawyers for the accused said the men believed the accounting decisions they made were appropriate at the time, and that the accounting treatment was approved by Nortel’s auditors from Deloitte & Touche. Judge Marrocco accepted the arguments, noting many times in his ruling that bookkeeping decisions were reviewed and approved by auditors and were adequately disclosed to investors in press releases or notes to the financial statements.

判決では、被告が決算数値を「操作」しようとした点は認めていますが、重要な虚偽表示であることは立証されなかったとされています。

Nonetheless, the judge also said said he believed the accused were attempting to “manage” Nortel’s financial results in both the fourth quarter of 2002 and in 2003, but added that he was not satisfied the changes resulted in material misrepresentations.

80百万ドルの引当金を除き、引当金の利用は[通常の営業活動」の範囲内であるとされています。80百万ドルの引当金は根拠がないものであり決算訂正において戻し入れられましたが、財務諸表において適切に開示され、また重要な金額ではなかったとされています。

He said that except for $80-million of reserves released in the first quarter of 2003, the rest of use of reserves was within “the normal course of business.” And Judge Marrocco said the $80-million release, while clearly “unsupportable” and later reversed during a restatement of Nortel’s books, was properly disclosed in Nortel’s financial statements at the time and was not a material amount.

当サイトの関連記事(2005年1月）