Volkswagen executive arrested on conspiracy charges News
Volkswagen executive arrested on conspiracy charges

[JURIST] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) [official website] arrested Volkswagen [corporate website] executive Oliver Schmidt, a German citizen, on Saturday on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States [NYT report]. Schmidt, who was arrested in Florida, is accused of participating in a conspiracy to keep American regulators from finding out that diesel cars were programmed to cheat on emissions tests. In 2014, Schmidt tried to convince American regulators that the excess emissions were accidental in a sworn affidavit. Schmidt is scheduled to appear [Reuters report] in a Detroit court on Monday.

VW is facing legal difficulty around the world over the emissions scandal. In December the European Union decided to take action [JURIST report] against seven member states over the emissions scandal. That same week, South Korea announced that it plans to fine [JURIST report] VW over false advertising. In October, a Spanish court ordered [JURIST report] Volkswagen to pay damages to a VW vehicle owner who purchased his car in 2011. A US judge approved [JURIST report] a $14.7 billion settlement in October between VW and the US Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the state of California and car owners who filed a class action lawsuit over the company’s emissions scandal. In September a German court said VW faces over [JURIST report] USD $8.2 billion in damage claims from investors. That same month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sued [JURIST report] VW and its local subsidiary for misleading customers. In August a district court in Germany ruled [JURIST report] that a collective complaint against VW may move forward. Last March the US FTC filed suit [JURIST report] against VW for false advertising.

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