Volkswagen Employees Say Manager Told Them to Destroy 'Defeat Device' Evidence

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

As the Environmental Protection Agency readied charges against Volkswagen, the automaker’s employees were told to remove evidence related to the diesel emissions scandal, German media reports claim.

The New York Times says several Volkswagen employees told investigators that just before the scandal broke, someone in a “supervisory position” told them indirectly to remove evidence of the emissions-cheating defeat devices installed in millions of diesel vehicles.

The manager used vague language when advising the employees on what to do, but “everyone understood” what the message meant, according to a spokesperson for the state attorney in Braunschweig, Germany.

Because of the ongoing investigation, the employee and his or her position within the company can’t be named. The order to erase evidence came in August 2015, a month before the EPA accused Volkswagen of emissions cheating.

The Times mentioned an anonymous source close to the automaker, who claimed “the suspect was a member of Volkswagen’s legal staff and has been suspended from his job.”

In court, the company said top brass were unaware of the looming charges, even though a memo was sent to former CEO Martin Winterkorn about concerns expressed by U.S. regulators about vehicle emissions irregularities. A PowerPoint presentation dating to 2006 was also found during the investigation.

In the wake of the scandal, Volkswagen hired law firm Jones Day to look into the issue. In March, the company’s supervisory board cleared management of any breaches of duty in relation to the scandal. That decision was apparently based on known evidence collected by the investigators.

A full report from Jones Day detailing the actions of the company isn’t expected until later this year.

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Old Man Pants Old Man Pants on Jun 09, 2016

    I don't think the Germermans much care about this anymore. Der Spiegel's homepage right now (spiegel.de) doesn't have a peep about VW and that's usually a good place to see what's rilin' the Heinies at any particular time. They do, though, have an awesome report about Columbian doctors extracting an intact grenade round from the head of a soldier. Oh, and they cover the Ottawa sinkhole.

  • Voyager Voyager on Jun 10, 2016

    "Wir haben es nicht gewusst"... since someone higher up the chain of command told us so. Sounds familiar?

    • Old Man Pants Old Man Pants on Jun 10, 2016

      Meh... people are people. Anyone will dummy-up if their job is on the line; the better the job, the greater your Kadavergehorsam.

  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
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