Japan's transport ministry is set to impose administrative penalties on major used-car dealer network Bigmotor over allegations it engaged in institutionalized fraud by intentionally damaging vehicles to inflate repair fees, ministry sources said Thursday.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism plans to take punitive action at 34 Bigmotor outlets, with 12 possibly subject to the harshest punishment of having their authority to conduct safety inspections revoked, they said.
The ministry intends to make public the administrative penalties it will impose on Friday and hold a hearing with Bigmotor before finalizing the punishments, the sources said.