The U.K. Serious Fraud Office this week charged electronic giant Olympus and one of its subsidiaries for making false and misleading statements to an auditor in an accounting fraud scheme that spanned more than a decade.

According to the SFO's charges, Olympus and its U.K. subsidiary, medical systems company Gyrus Group, are being charged with violations of Section 501 of the U.K. Companies Act. Section 501 of the Companies Act prohibits making false, misleading or deceptive statements to auditors in connection with financial accounting of a U.K. company.

Gyrus Group faces four charges, and Olympus faces one charge. “The company has been cooperating fully with the SFO's investigation,” Olympus said in a statement.

The SFO said it began investigating the allegations in November 2011 after former Olympus CEO Michael Woodford blew the whistle on $1.7 billion in suspicious payments made by Olympus between April 2010 and March 2011. Several Olympus executives managed losses in off-balance-sheet entities and hid them by manipulating expert opinions provided to auditors, an internal investigation concluded.

The SFO's charges follow related sentences that a Tokyo district court brought in July against former Olympus chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa; former Olympus deputy chairman Hisashi Mori; and former Olympus board director Hideo Yamada. The court also ordered Olympus to pay a fine of 700 million yen ($7 million).

The first hearing in the SFO case begins in Westminster Magistrates' Court Sept. 10.

“As it is difficult to predict the outcome of this matter or estimate the level of fines that may be imposed on the company and [Gyrus Group], the potential financial impact of this prosecution on Olympus Group's business is unclear,” Olympus stated. “The company will release further details regarding any potential financial impact without delay as soon as it receives any information in this respect during the course of these proceedings.”