Volkswagen
At a general meeting in 2016, the appointment of a special auditor was rejected by a large majority.
(Photo: dpa)
In the dispute over the appointment of a special auditor in the diesel scandal, Volkswagen has won a stage. The Federal Constitutional Court upheld two constitutional complaints by the Wolfsburg car manufacturer, as the judges in Karlsruhe announced on Friday. The Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Celle, which had ordered the special audit, had violated the right to be heard several times to the detriment of VW. Two decisions from 2017 and 2020 were therefore repealed.
Above all, the special auditor is to investigate the point at which the board of directors and the supervisory board knew or should have known that the exhaust gas cleaning of millions of diesel cars had been manipulated in such a way that they only complied with the limit values in official tests, but not on the road. This is relevant to the question of whether shareholders may have been informed too late via an ad hoc announcement.
At a general meeting in 2016, the appointment of a special auditor was rejected by a large majority. Three funds under US law, represented by the German Protection Association for Securities Ownership, then applied for the appointment in court. Volkswagen believes that these funds were not entitled to do so due to their legal nature.
The Higher Regional Court, on the other hand, had accepted that – after all, the funds could also have acquired VW shares. According to the Constitutional Court, however, this question should have been examined in detail. A group spokesman said that Volkswagen AG felt “emphatically confirmed in its legal opinion”. We will carefully consider the next steps.
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So far, the special test has not started. The first examiner, who was appointed by the judges in Celle in 2017, never took up the task with reference to his age. A new special auditor was then appointed in 2020. VW would like him to first disclose any economic dependencies such as investments. Proceedings are currently pending at the Hanover Regional Court. At the same time, the proceedings at the Celle Higher Regional Court must now be resumed.
More: Shareholder representatives continue to argue with Volkswagen over Winterkorn settlement