Japanese trust banks are planning to launch legal actions against struggling Toshiba Corp. over an accounting scandal, Reuters and the Asahi Shimbun reported Jan. 30.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp. is seeking ¥1 billion in damages on behalf of its client pension funds after Toshiba's shares slumped following the 2015 accounting scandal. The bank plans to file the case to court in March, the Asahi Shimbun said.

Two other trust banks, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd. and Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. Ltd. are also planning to file similar suits, Reuters said, citing "sources with direct knowledge of the matter."

Toshiba's accounting scandal was first uncovered in early 2015 and unfolded into a bigger financial problem, involving a poor M&A decision. Forty-five overseas institutional investors had filed a suit against Toshiba in October 2016 after the conglomerate admitted to reporting inflated profits since 2008.

As of Jan. 27, US$1 was equivalent to ¥115.07.