BRAUNSCHWEIG: German prosecutors could wrap up an investigation into alleged market manipulation by senior Volkswagen executives soon, the prosecutors said, after ordering the carmaker to pay €1 billion (£881 million) to settle claims of emissions cheating.
Braunschweig prosecutors fined Volkswagen for management lapses in failing to prevent cheating of diesel emissions tests, one of the biggest ever penalties imposed by German authorities against a company.
The €1 billion is not included in the € 25.8 billion (£ 22.3 billion) that Europe’s biggest carmaker has so far set aside to cover costs related to its 2015 admission that it cheated US diesel emissions tests, and so it will hit earnings, analysts at Evercore ISI said.
German prosecutors are also investigating whether senior Volkswagen executives including chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch and chief executive Herbert Diess informed investors in a timely fashion about the size of potential fines faced by the carmaker for cheating US emissions tests.
“On market manipulation, it is possible that there will be a decision this year. A decision does not necessarily mean bringing charges, it could mean closing the proceedings,” Braunschweig prosecutor Klaus Ziehe said at a news conference. — AFP
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