Livedoor's Horie's appeal fails

Horie was a leading Japanese entrepreneur

The Japanese internet entrepreneur Takafumi Horie has failed in his appeal against securities fraud convictions.

The judge said crimes at Livedoor such as exaggerating earnings and misleading potential investors could not have happened without Horie's approval.

Horie has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, an unusually long term for white-collar crime in Japan.

Horie was not in court to hear the verdict. His lawyers are to appeal to the Supreme Court.

'Flimsy sense of standards'

At its peak, Horie's web portal Livedoor was worth £3bn and its founder feted as the first of a new breed of more aggressive Japanese entrepreneurs.

When the scandal emerged, Livedoor's stock plunged to such an extent that the Tokyo Stock Exchange had to close early for the first time.

"The defendant has a flimsy sense of standards and lacks any grace," presiding judge Tetsuji Nagaoka said as he handed down his verdict.

But Horie's lawyers claim that he is being punished for being confident in his own innocence.