D he prosecution has Braunschweig Volkswagen in the diesel affair fined a total of one billion euros. It has been detected for some time, now see the prosecutor “breach of duty” in the Group occupied. In the United States VW had already had to pay billions of penalties for the diesel affair. And there were compensation for affected car owners. So far, the legal system in Germany does not exist.
Consumer advocates evaluate the fine against Volkswagen therefore positive, but see for the owners of the affected cars for the time being, no effect. “In principle, it is to be welcomed that it is obviously finally begun to hold Volkswagen accountable for the fraud,” said the head of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, Klaus Müller.
Nothing changes for customers
For the buyers of the car, however, this does not change anything immediately. “They are so far alone with their damage there,” said the consumer advocates. Müller suggested a fund for the hardware retrofitting of diesels, which could soon be overturned due to exhaust manipulation. So consumers could benefit from such manufacturer funds.
Formally, the “breaches of supervisory duties” are an administrative offense; the fine is made up of the maximum legal amount of € 5 million and a reduction of economic benefits totaling € 995 million , as the Volkswagen AG announced on Wednesday evening. The carmaker refrains from seeking redress “and thus acknowledges its responsibility” , The money must be paid according to prosecutors within six weeks to the state of Lower Saxony. Today, Thursday morning, the prosecutor in Braunschweig wants to comment on the details.
Volkswagen expressed the expectation that “the termination of this procedure will also have a significant positive impact on further regulatory proceedings conducted in Europe against Volkswagen AG and its affiliates.” Among other things, investigations are underway in Braunschweig against former and current managers – on the one hand because of the initial suspicion of fraud and on the other because of market manipulation.
Investors also complain about damages worth billions, because the VW share went down after the scandal became known. The managers are said to have informed the financial markets too late in autumn 2015 about the exhaust gas scandal. The Group has always stressed that it did so on time.