Volkswagen Execs Hiring Defense Lawyers En Masse as U.S. Authorities Snoop in Germany
Volkswagen appears to be suiting up for an impending battle. The road has been a long and difficult, but the diesel emissions scandal seems as if it’s about to begin its third and final act.
Dozens of German Volkswagen AG officials have hired criminal defense lawyers as the United States Department of Justice elevates its investigation into the company. U.S. authorities have traveled across the Atlantic to conduct additional interviews with managers and gather further evidence on VW’s plot to elude America’s emission regulations.
Bloomberg reports:
The U.S. has already helped broker a civil settlement that will cost the Wolfsburg, Germany, company more than $16 billion in fines and penalties. The Justice Department, characterizing the diesel cheating as a 10-year conspiracy to deceive environmental officials, has said it will pursue criminal charges against not only the company but also individuals.
Volkswagen had hoped to have everything concluded before the Obama administration left office, but with the probe just ramping up, it looks like that won’t be possible. After the regime change, the proceedings will pass onto the Trump directorate, which has stated its clear interest to name Senator Jeff Sessions as attorney general. Sessions, a former federal prosecutor from Alabama, has said he would not back down from charging a major company and its leadership if there was any evidence of criminal activity.
While the United States can certainly charge individuals, getting those executives to stand trial in the states could be extremely difficult — German citizens cannot be extradited from their home country. Right now, the identity of those executives is a matter of speculation. In September, prosecutors obtained a guilty plea and cooperation from a former VW engineer who reported directly to company executives. Outside of that lone engineer, it isn’t obvious who, if anyone, might also face charges.
Volkswagen has asserted that management had no knowledge of the choice to implement the emission-cheating software. Even former company CEO Martin Winterkorn, who left as a direct result of the scandal in 2015, took responsibility for the issue while denying any personal wrongdoing or involvement.
[Image: Volkswagen of America]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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The prices for my new gas VWs has not plummeted. The 2014 models we owned with the 1.8T engines were insanely reliable up to 45 K miles before trading them in. Zero recalls (for the 14's we had). Now we have 3 2016s 2 Jettas (1.8T and 1.4T) and a GTI. The Jettas are performing beautifully with the 1.4T returning over 40MPG highway on a regular basis and the GTI has had 1 recall for a fuel suction pump. We are incredibly happy with the cars and are sold on the brand.
Being an Alabamian, I really doubt Sessions is going to go after VW execs with any real gusto. His priorities will be rolling back Roe v. Wade, trying to subvert the voting rights act, and bringing free speech cases forward that adhere to his definition of it (flag burning bad, prayer in schools good.) But - I have my buyback scheduled for Dec. 21. See ya later, fellas.