Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt
The lawyer was on the VW board for 13 months.
(Photo: Michael Loewa / laif)
Düsseldorf Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt appeared the perfect candidate for four years ago Volkswagen to be: The one shaken by the exhaust gas scandal VWCorporation needed someone with experience in white collar crime, and the former SPD politician and federal constitutional judge had already been in the Daimler– Management acquired a good reputation by dealing with a corruption affair. The lawyer was appointed to the VW Board of Directors as the supreme person responsible for law and integrity.
Formally speaking, even Manfred Döss had to report to her, the company’s chief legal counsel. It was said, in Wolfsburg today, not a good idea. Döss has excellent relationships with the main owners of VW and was reluctant to say anything, least of all on legal issues.
Both Talks in the diesel affair with the U.S. Department of Justice he pushed Hohmann-Dennhardt to the side. Their attempt to engage former FBI chief Louis Freeh at Volkswagen to negotiate with the U.S. judiciary or monitor failed.
In January 2016, just over a year after their arrival, Hohmann-Dennhardt resigned. Volkswagen gave her twelve million euros in severance pay, plus a monthly immediate pension of up to 8,000 euros. It was a bitter farewell, with malicious comments from both sides.
Today Hohmann-Dennhardt says that when she started working, “an office room with a secretariat that was not yet manned” had been assigned to her. Later, she never received anything in writing from the Jones Day law firm engaged in diesel investigations, “only oral reports”.
I have given an explanation of how it happened, as far as I know and remember, at the beginning of 2016. Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt (ex-VW board member)
Now there is an aftermath in court, the cause of which is a dispute between Volkswagen and Louis Freeh, which Hohmann-Dennhardt wanted to bring to Wolfsburg, but failed.
Freeh is currently working as an expert for US customers who are suing Volkswagen in the diesel scandal. The group finds that impossible. Freeh was a secret agent because he had inspected VW internals in the preliminary talks about a possible engagement as a top lawyer.
Not true, says Freeh, and called Hohmann-Dennhardt as a witness. It was to testify that Freeh couldn’t reveal any secrets because he didn’t get any.
On February 1, 2020, she made a statement to a California court. “Louis J. Freeh was never hired as a lawyer or consultant by Volkswagen. He was also not asked by Volkswagen to provide legal advice to the company. As far as I know, Mr. Freeh has not received any confidential or privileged information from Volkswagen, nor has there been a client relationship. ”
Email traffic as a counter tactic
Volkswagen counters – with private correspondence between Freeh and Hohmann-Dennhardt. “Dear Christine,” Freeh began an email from January 12, 2016. The person addressed had just moved into the VW board, but communicated with the possible special representative Freeh via her private Gmail address.
Freeh told her about a two and a half hour Meeting with VW Chief Justice Döss, which discussed details of the diesel scandal on the one hand, and Freeh’s possible role in solving it on the other. Four days later, Freeh wrote another long email in which he made suggestions for Volkswagen’s further course of action and even attached a draft press statement. Freeh’s request was to announce his appointment as a special investigator at VW.
The press release was never sent out. Freeh, it is said in Wolfsburg, made horrendous demands. On the one hand, he asked for a three-year contract for $ 15 million, and he is also said to have requested a performance-related bonus, depending on the settlement reached with the US authorities. Given the billions of dollars involved, Freeh could have earned several hundred million dollars.
He didn’t get a cent. Volkswagen has offered itself twice as a consultant in the diesel scandal. His showing up in the camp of those who are now suing VW is therefore unfair. A spokesman for the group: “After Volkswagen twice refused to hire him, Mr. Freeh should not be allowed to change sides and use this insider knowledge against the company.”