4 JAPANESE FIRMS CHARGED WITH BREAKING U.S. SECURITIES LAWS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 26, 1993                   TAG: 9302260205
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium
4 JAPANESE FIRMS CHARGED WITH BREAKING U.S. SECURITIES LAWS
The U.S. subsidiaries of four of Japan's largest brokerage houses were charged Thursday with violating securities laws, including one implicated in the Salomon Inc. government bond auction scandal.
The development was part of a series of actions involving some of the firms brought by three federal agencies and the New York Stock Exchange.
Three of the firms, without admitting or denying wrongdoing, settled Securities and Exchange Commission charges of maintaining false records or faulty bookkeeping and agreed to pay fines ranging from $50,000 to $200,000.
The fourth, Nikko Securities Co. International Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Nikko Securities Co. Ltd., did not agree to a settlement and was charged in a federal civil lawsuit with covering up $18 million in trading losses.
The SEC said one of the three firms that did settle - Daiwa Securities America, a unit of Japan's Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd. - also agreed to pay nearly $250,000 in penalties to settle unrelated charges stemming from its role in the Salomon scandal.
In addition to the Daiwa subsidiary, the firms agreeing to settle were Nomura Securities International Inc., a unit of Nomura Securities Co. Ltd., and Yamaichi International (America) Inc., a unit of Yamaichi Securities Co.
Gary G. Lynch, outside counsel for Nomura and a former SEC enforcement chief, described the violations as "rather technical provisions of books and records" rules.
A Nikko spokesman declined immediate comment.
The New York Stock Exchange also took action against Yamaichi for compensating a customer for trading losses, and the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York imposed sanctions against Daiwa for the Salomon-related matter.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB