Court rejects release of Livedoor's Horie: reports

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2006

TOKYO (AFP) — A Japanese court refused to release on bail Takafumi Horie, the flamboyant millionaire who founded Internet firm Livedoor but now faces charges of fraud.

His lawyer had applied for bail to the Tokyo District Court after the 33-year-old was indicted for alleged violation of securities laws Monday, Jiji Press and Kyodo News said.

But the court rejected the application Friday, the news agencies said. A court spokesman declined comment as the proceedings were not open to the public.

The Livedoor founder has been jailed since January 23, a far cry from his glamorous office and residence in the towering Roppongi Hills complex.

Horie was once hailed as a harbinger of a new brash Japanese corporate culture, showing up to work in a tee-shirt and...