The false accounting scandal surrounding Japanese camera-maker Olympus has taken another turn with the arrest of some of the company’s former bosses.

Former president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa has been arrested along with former vice-president Hisashi Mori and former auditor Hideo Yamada following claims that they tried to hide $1.7 billion in investment losses.

Also arrested were a former brokerage firm executive and three former employees of a top securities company who are said to have advised Olympus’s bosses on how to cover up the losses.

The scandal over the company’s accounts was exposed by former Olympus chief executive Michael Woodford, who confronted the board about discrepancies in the accounts and was sacked as a result. 

Six of Olympus’s 11-member board, including president Shuichi Takayama, are expected to resign at the company’s next meeting of shareholders in April.