Prosecutors are reportedly considering tax-evasion or fraud charges, with a focus on five VW employees that may have been involved in the scheme. It was revealed that the focus of the investigation was on tax breaks Volkswagen received for producing low polluting cars that the company might not have qualified for if the emissions were correctly reported. It’s being conducted by prosecutors in Brunswick, near VW headquarters in Wolfsburg.
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There’s no word on how long the investigation will take but a member of the prosecutor’s office told Automotive News Europe the damages caused by the possible tax evasion are “not insignificant”. The investigation is looking into suspected tax evasion that could amount to millions of euros, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and German broadcasters Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Westdeutscher Rundfunk said in a joint report, via Reuters.
The inquiry centres on the fact that the Carbon dioxide emissions of 800,000 had been understated, leading the lower tax payments. The reporting error includes both gasoline and diesel cars from VW, and its component brands.
Since Volkswagen scandals are an increasingly common occurrence, we’ll remind you the company found “irregularities” with their Carbon dioxide emissions data earlier this month as part of their internal investigation into the Dieselgate debacle.
The German automaker has pledged to fix 11 million vehicles worldwide that were discovered to contain software that enables them to cheat on emissions tests for nitrogen oxide.
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Volkswagen’s U.S. operations chief Michael Horn admitted they knew about the emission problems. It has already set aside some 8.7 billion euro ($9 billion) to deal with the scandal.
