People walk past a signboard of Olympus Corp outside its showroom in Tokyo
People walk past a signboard of Olympus Corp outside its showroom in Tokyo January 12, 2012. REUTERS

Japan's Olympus Corp said on Tuesday it has sued five past and current auditors seeking up to 1 billion yen ($13 million) in compensation, after they signed off on 13 years of fraudulent accounts.

The suit against five individuals, filed with the Tokyo district court on Tuesday, comes after an unofficial panel of experts cleared global accounting groups KPMG and Ernst & Young of any responsibility for the company's $1.7 billion accounting fraud.

The role of accounting firms remains under official review.

($1 = 76.7100 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo; Writing by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Court Japan