$1.6 Billion Dollar Fine for Toyota

Toyota has just confirmed that they will pay the US government $1.2 billion dollars to escape criminal charges concerning the cases of unintended acceleration which happened in 2009-2010. These problems caused deaths, and Toyota had to recall more than 10 million vehicles.

According to an agreement between Toyota and the US court, the Japanese manufacturer will have to accept full responsibility, pay the aforementioned fine and allow an inspector to oversee the settlements of the 300 cases remaining, Toyota having already settled 131 of them.

• Also: Toyota recalls 185,000 vehicles globally for power steering glitch
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According to Eric Holder, Attorney General: “Toyota intentionally concealed information and misled the public. They confronted a public safety emergency as if it were a simple public relations problem.” He adds that this fine is the largest ever placed on a car manufacturer in the US.

The Attorney General states that Toyota knew about the source of the problem, but chose to hide the information.

This case has been a financial debacle for the Japanese manufacturer. They have already paid $1.6 Billion dollars to car owners stating that they lost financial value on their cars following the massive recalls in 2009-2010.