German prosecutors said on Thursday that they had not launched a formal inquiry against Martin Winterkorn, the former chief executive of auto giant Volkswagen, contrary to what they originally stated this week. An official press statement released on Wednesday by public prosecutors in Brunswick was “formulated incorrectly,” a spokesman told AFP.
No specific individuals are targeted so far in the prosecutors’ investigation into the massive pollution-cheating scandal. Complaints had been filed by private individuals against Winterkorn, but only initial suspicions were being probed and there was no formal inquiry as yet, the spokesman explained.
The original statement on the prosecutors’ website had been amended to say that “in connection with the allegations of emission manipulation in diesel vehicles of the VW brand ... prosecutors are examining whether to launch an inquiry against those employees responsible at Volkswagen AG.”
But the statement no longer named Winterkorn directly.
Volkswagen has admitted that up to 11 million diesel cars worldwide are fitted with devices that can switch on pollution controls when they detect the car is undergoing testing.
They then switch off the controls when the car is on the road, allowing it to spew out harmful levels of emissions.
The automaker has drawn up a plan of action to recall millions of cars affected.
Regulatory and legal probes are underway in several countries to find out who knew what and when. And the German government has given VW until October 7 to explain how it will resolve the scandal.
Sixty-eight-year-old Winterkorn resigned last week, taking responsibility for the scandal as CEO, but still insisting that he personally knew nothing about the deception.
Meanwhile, Australia’s competition watchdog on Thursday warned that Volkswagen could be hit with up to $780,000 in fines for each pollution-cheating device installed and in use in its cars in the country.
The German auto giant is facing its deepest-ever crisis after admitting up to 11 million diesel cars worldwide were equipped with sophisticated software that covertly switches on pollution controls when they undergo an emissions test.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it was still waiting for Volkswagen Group Australia to clarify how many of its cars in the nation were fitted with the so-called defeat devices. “This enforcement investigation is a priority for the ACCC,” chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.
The devices, if they are being used in the cars, would breach Australian safety standards, Sims added.
“Using defeat devices is specifically prohibited under the Australian Design Rules, which are picked up as Australian Consumer Law (ACL) mandatory safety standards,” he said.
“As the enforcer of the ACL, the ACCC can take action against any corporation that has breached mandatory standards.” The regulator said the maximum penalty for a company for each breach of consumer law was Aus 1.1 million.
According to estimates by Fairfax Media and News Corporation newspapers, up to 50,000 vehicles made by Volkswagen and Volkswagen’s top-of-the-range Audi subsidiary could be fitted with the diesel engines that contain the devices.
This means Volkswagen could potentially face billions of dollars in Australian penalties, but such a huge fine would be unprecedented for the ACCC.
The ACCC said it was also looking into Audi Australia’s comments yesterday that some of its engines could be fitted with the device, although the carmaker said they were “inactive”.