Haruo Nishida, a stock speculator arrested for alleged market manipulation, has claimed to have been involved in the setting up of the two funds based in the British Virgin Islands, which the ex-president of NOVA Corp. Nozomu Sahashi had been trying to get in order to sustain the failed English conversation school chain.
Nishida was arrested by the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office, Japan, on October 12 , for stock manipulations with the company A.C. Holdings Co. The day before his arrest, he claimed to have been involved in the issue of NOVA shares and setting the British Virgin Islands funds Rich Peninsula Trading Ltd. and Tower Sky Profits Ltd., that had deals with Sahashi. Meanwhile, the axed president of NOVA Corporation denies all the claims saying he had never heard of Nishida or about his dealing with the BVI funds.
On October 24, 2007 NOVA Corp. issued share warrant stock 70 mln yen (about $610,000) worth that would allow the two funds to purchase up to 200 mln shares in the company. If the funds purchased all the shares, Sahashi hoped it would generate about 6.4 billion yen in cash, and so the company will be rescued. However the plan failed, when NOVA filed for protection from creditors, and Jasdaq annnounced the company would be delisted on November 27.
NOVA Corp.’s receivers said they would have to take legal steps if there were any unfair activities initiated by Sahashi.