FBI Arrests Volkswagen Executive in Emissions Scandal
VW executive Oliver Schmidt is suspected of participating in a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. in connection with the emissions-cheating scandal
A Volkswagen AG executive was arrested and charged as part of a U.S. investigation into the German auto giant’s emissions-cheating scandal, with a federal complaint detailing how the company’s top management conspired to hide the cheating from regulators.
Oliver Schmidt, who was once in charge of ensuring that Volkswagen vehicles complied with U.S. emissions, was arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on Saturday at Miami International Airport as he prepared to fly home to Germany. He is suspected of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government and U.S. consumers to sell Volkswagen diesel vehicles.
VW is already paying 16 Billion in fines, having to buy back cars at market value, what justice is served putting this guy in JAIL :shrug:
The charges, unsealed Monday, come as Volkswagen seeks to settle criminal allegations stemming from its admission in 2015 that it rigged nearly 600,000 diesel-powered cars sold in the U.S. to cheat on emissions tests. Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to $17.5 billion in the U.S. to settle claims with regulators, consumers, dealers and state attorneys general and could face another multibillion-dollar penalty in the expected criminal case.
Mr. Schmidt appears to have become a central figure in the U.S. government’s investigation as someone who allegedly played a key role in the company’s efforts to conceal its use of illegal software, a so-called defeat device, in diesel vehicles sold in the U.S.