Nomura's pounds 2bn payment broke the law

Nomura Securities broke the law when it paid pounds 2m to a gangster, Japanese financial regulators said, following a 10-month investigation of Japan's largest brokerage. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission alleged that executives in several departments at Nomura co-operated in making the payments.

The payments broke Japanese commercial laws against loss compensation and trading on a customer's account without permission, the commission said. The next step is for the Ministry of Finance to decide a punishment for Nomura based on the commission's findings. Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka said after the commission's report that he would severely punish Nomura.