Takata may settle U.S. criminal probe

Japan's Takata Corp. is nearing a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and is expected to pay up to $1 billion to resolve allegations of criminal wrongdoing related to its faulty air bag inflaters, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The final figure could be in the high hundreds of millions of dollars, the Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Both the parties are discussing the possibility of the auto parts supplier pleading guilty to criminal misconduct as part of the settlement, which could take place as soon as January, though the timing could slip, the WSJ report said.

Takata is expected to pay a part of the penalty up front and the rest over a number of years, according to the report. The penalty is not 'likely to eclipse $1 billion.”

Both Takata and the Department of Justice declined to comment.

The company's air bag inflaters, which can explode with excessive force in hot and humid conditions, have been linked to 11 deaths and at least 184 injuries in the United States.

Takata first said that propellant chemicals were mishandled and improperly stored during assembly, which supposedly caused the metal air bag inflaters to burst open due to excessive pressure inside. In July, the company blamed humid weather and spurred additional recalls.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said earlier this month that it would press the auto industry to accelerate the pace of replacements for defective Takata air bag inflaters and signaled a likely widening of the industry's largest ever recall.