Dentsu Inc. said it will pay an estimated ¥230 million back to customers, including Toyota Motor Corp., that it overcharged for internet advertisements in a case likely to stoke concern that digital media transactions have lacked transparency.
The nation's largest ad agency investigated transactions going back as far as November 2012 and uncovered 633 suspicious cases affecting 111 advertisers, including 14 examples where fees were charged and no placement had been made, Dentsu said in a statement Friday. The company apologized and said business results will probably not be materially affected.
"We will repay the ¥230 million, and we will talk with clients after all the facts are disclosed," Toshihiro Yamamoto, Dentsu senior vice president, told reporters in Tokyo on Friday.