Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau singled out Aiful Corp., a major consumer loan firm in Japan, for failure to declare taxes after it found false losses of 850 million yen in the firm's calculation for bad-debt loss during the fiscal year of 2005, major Japanese newspapers reported Friday.

The Kyoto-based firm calculated loans behind on repayment schedules as bad-debt loss. The bureau pointed out that the firm had been receiving repayment on an irregular basis and that such loans would not be considered as uncollectible, the bureau said to media.

The firm also failed to pay 13 million yen in stamp taxes in during the last three fiscal years.

Aiful also failed to declare part of its income, as much 850 million yen, for fiscal years of 2001 and 2002.

The government ordered Aiful to suspend business in April 2006 due to its many offenses. The Ministry of Finance and related services had been deluged with complaints that Aiful was collecting debts in a manner that verged on extortion.

(1 usd = 116.20 yen)

Japan