Three Takata executives indicted in U.S. over faulty airbags

There are 46 million recalled Takata inflators in 29 million vehicles in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)

(Bloomberg) – Three Takata Corp. executives were accused in a U.S. indictment of misleading federal regulators, consumers and car manufacturers about the company’s faulty air bags as part of a years-long scheme that led to the biggest recall in history.

Shinichi Tanaka, Hideo Nakajima and Tsuneo Chikaraishi were charged in federal court in Michigan. The indictment came just hours before prosecutors are expected to announce that Takata has agreed to plead guilty and pay as much as $1 billion. A press conference in Detroit is scheduled for later Friday.