Toshiba’s chief executive and president Hisao Tanaka is to resign after the company said it had overstated its profits for the past six years.

He will be succeeded by chairman Masashi Muromachi, with vice-chairman Norio Sasaki also stepping down, reports the BBC.

On Monday, an independent panel appointed by Toshiba said the firm had overstated its operating profit by a total of 151.8bn yen ($1.22bn).

The overstatement was roughly triple an initial Toshiba estimate.

‘It has been revealed that there has been inappropriate accounting going on for a long time, and we deeply apologize for causing this serious trouble for shareholders and other stakeholders,’ the company said in a statement.

‘Because of this Hisao Tanaka, our company president, and Norio Sasaki, our company’s vice chairman... will resign today.’

Tanaka, 64, and Sasaki, 66, both joined Toshiba in the early 1970s.

Sasaki served as Toshiba president between June 2009 and June 2013, covering most of the period during which the firm inflated the profits.

Internet/NS