A tap on the fingers. Volkswagen has taken another important step towards the legal outcome of the engine-rigged scandal, with the end of a particularly sensitive criminal procedure targeting the two highest executives of the group against a payment of 9 million euros.
Dismissed in September 2019 for manipulation of the financial markets as part of the "dieselgate", Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen since April 2018, and the chairman of the supervisory board, Hans Dieter Pötsch, will finally avoid a trial after an agreement with the prosecutor of Brunswick.
The company pays the invoice
"The supervisory board welcomes the end of the procedure," said a spokesperson for the group on Tuesday, confirming the agreement. Volkswagen will take over payment of 4.5 million euros per defendant, because it did not identify "breaches of homework towards the company" on the part of the two leaders, accused of having informed too late Investors in diesel car fraud, added this source.
This is just one of the many procedures linked to this sprawling scandal. It had erupted in September 2015, when Volkswagen admitted to having rigged 11 million vehicles with software capable of making them appear less polluting during laboratory tests than on the roads, a revelation that had caused the share price of VW to drop. Stock Exchange.
For the group, this criminal investigation against its current leaders was one of the most delicate: it was in particular to determine when the board had been informed of the cheat and the risks that ensued. Herbert Diess was head of the flagship brand VW and Mr. Pötsch chief financial officer on September 18, 2015, when the revelations of the American authorities had plunged the German automobile industry, pillar of the economy of the country, into an incredible crisis which the continues until today. Volkswagen has always maintained that the management board only became aware of the total extent of the legal and financial risks at that time and therefore complied with its financial reporting obligations.
Vokswagen scandal over 30 billion euros
The boss at the time, Martin Winterkorn, had also been fired last September for "manipulation of the stock market price", in addition to a previous dismissal for "aggravated fraud".
The former boss remains under threat of a trial, his case not being covered by the agreement announced Tuesday. But for the component related to financial markets, a similar outcome could also occur soon, according to the German press.
Mr. Pötsch is still under investigation by the Stuttgart prosecutor's office for manipulation of the stock market; the former head of the Audi brand, Rupert Stadler, is also awaiting trial.
Investors are still claiming compensation in the context of a group procedure opened in September 2018. But the end of the criminal investigation strengthens the group's defense in this case.
The “dieselgate” has already cost the German manufacturer more than 30 billion euros, which has since tried to improve its image by betting on the electric car. Most of this sum (legal fees, fines and compensation) has so far been spent in the United States, in particular by generously compensating customers for the recovery of their vehicles.
In Germany, the manufacturer paid three fines totaling 2.3 billion euros. At the end of April, another aspect of the drawer scandal closed: Volkswagen will spend at least 750 million euros to reimburse 235,000 customers grouped in an unprecedented trial in Germany, similar to a "class action" in the United States, under an amicable agreement.
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Dieselgate: Volkswagen reaches agreement that could end a mega-trial in Germany
- Economy
- Volkswagen
- Germany
- Diesel