German justice has opened a new investigation on suspicions of market manipulation at Volkswagen in the context of the diesel emissions scandal. This revelation from the German magazine WirtschaftsWoche, made Tuesday, March 20, relies on a spokesperson of the public prosecutor. Searches were also conducted in early March, confirmed March 20 the German car manufacturer, without further details.
At the beginning of March, the prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig conducted searches of thirteen offices at Volkswagen’s head office and seized documents and computer files that will be examined in the coming weeks, the spokesman for the prosecution told the German magazine. In February, searches have already been conducted at Audi headquarters, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, as part of VW’s pollutant emissions survey.
Possible market manipulation
The prosecution said it was checking a statement issued by Volkswagen on December 9, 2015, questioning the regulatory aspect of its content and wondering if it could have been the source of any market manipulation, WirtschaftsWoche adds. VW, however, believes that it has complied with the regulatory requirements governing such “ad hoc” news releases. The Brunswick prosecutor’s office was not available immediately to provide more information.
Even though the automaker has unveiled excellent results last week, March 13, the “dieselgate” will still cost him dearly this year. In 2018, the company expects to pay between 4 and 5 billion euros for expenses related to this case.
with Reuters