New owner of Mugen Co.
Former Honda-owned Formula One engine supplier Mugen said Friday it would hand over all of its operations to a new company following the arrest of its president for massive tax evasion.
The new firm, named M-TEC, will be set up on October 1 and based at Mugen's headquarters in Asaka on the northern outskirts of Tokyo, while retaining Mugen's brand name and 150-strong workforce, a company statement said.
Mugen Co. board member Shin Nagaosa, 54, will become president of the new firm which will be capitalised at 30 million yen (256,000 dollars) and strive to secure "transparency" in management, the statement said.
"We will not just seek a new image or frame of mind. We need to create a new environment in which we work flat-out to maintain good relations with our associates," Nagaosa told AFP.
Mugen president Hirotoshi Honda, the eldest son of Honda founder Soichiro Honda, and auditor Norio Hirokawa were indicted in July on charges of evading one billion yen in corporate tax. Honda 61, earlier said he would step down as Mugen head although he had never been involved in the case.
"We reached the conclusion that a new entity is necessary to continue our operations while being involved in criminal and civil court proceedings over the charges," Nagaosa said.
The indictment said Honda conspired with the auditor to hide 2.83 billion yen of the company's income to evade taxes by moving the funds to a subsidiary under the guise of payments for machine-leasing and other transactions in the three years to October 2000.
Mugen, meaning infinity, was established in 1973 as a key affiliate of Honda's racing division.
After a brief F1 stint, Mugen re-entered the premier motorsport circuit in 1975 with the Ligier team. Mugen-powered machines won four F1 races before the company pulled out at the end of the 2000 season, making way for Honda's full return to Grand Prix racing.
Mugen has since been producing engines and machines for races, mainly the Formula Nippon series, in a tie-up with Honda.
Former Honda-owned Formula One engine supplier Mugen said Friday it would hand over all of its operations to a new company following the arrest of its president for massive tax evasion.
The new firm, named M-TEC, will be set up on October 1 and based at Mugen's headquarters in Asaka on the northern outskirts of Tokyo, while retaining Mugen's brand name and 150-strong workforce, a company statement said.
Mugen Co. board member Shin Nagaosa, 54, will become president of the new firm which will be capitalised at 30 million yen (256,000 dollars) and strive to secure "transparency" in management, the statement said.
"We will not just seek a new image or frame of mind. We need to create a new environment in which we work flat-out to maintain good relations with our associates," Nagaosa told AFP.
Mugen president Hirotoshi Honda, the eldest son of Honda founder Soichiro Honda, and auditor Norio Hirokawa were indicted in July on charges of evading one billion yen in corporate tax. Honda 61, earlier said he would step down as Mugen head although he had never been involved in the case.
"We reached the conclusion that a new entity is necessary to continue our operations while being involved in criminal and civil court proceedings over the charges," Nagaosa said.
The indictment said Honda conspired with the auditor to hide 2.83 billion yen of the company's income to evade taxes by moving the funds to a subsidiary under the guise of payments for machine-leasing and other transactions in the three years to October 2000.
Mugen, meaning infinity, was established in 1973 as a key affiliate of Honda's racing division.
After a brief F1 stint, Mugen re-entered the premier motorsport circuit in 1975 with the Ligier team. Mugen-powered machines won four F1 races before the company pulled out at the end of the 2000 season, making way for Honda's full return to Grand Prix racing.
Mugen has since been producing engines and machines for races, mainly the Formula Nippon series, in a tie-up with Honda.
