TOKYO: Capitalism, red in tooth and claw, is best confined to the 'Monopoly' board game, as jailed internet entrepreneur Takafumi Horie (pictured) is probably reflecting after the Tokyo High Court last week refused his appeal against a thirty-month prison sentence.

The 35-year-old former Livedoor president – once the trendy epitome of aggressive new media colonialism – claimed he had not intended to falsify financial statements or commit other violations.

His defense fell on deaf ears as prosecutors argued that criminal acts at the Japanese web giant could not have been conducted without Horie's instructions or say-so.

At an earlier district court hearing, Horie was found guilty of conspiring to conceal a fiscal deficit in the year ended September 2004 by falsely inflating Livedoor's earnings by some ¥ 5.3 billion ($49.5m; €31.55m; £24.9m).

Data sourced from The Asahi Shimbun (Japan); additional content by WARC staff