Olympus panel submits report, to brief at 0600 GMT

TOKYO Dec 6 (Reuters) - An investigative panel probing an accounting scandal at Japan's disgraced Olympus Corp has submitted its report to the company, the panel said in a statement on Tuesday, clearing the way for possible criminal complaints against those found responsible.

The panel will brief media on the report at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), it said.

A source familiar with the probe said on Monday that the panel had found that Olympus hid up to $1.7 billion in losses from its investors in a scheme that has fanned worries about Japanese corporate governance. But he said the panel was likely to say there was no evidence of involvement by organised crime in the cover-up.

The panel will also stop short of recommending criminal charges against executives involved in the accounting scandal, presenting only the facts and leaving Olympus to pursue this aspect, the source said.