BERLIN, Nov. 6 (UPI) — The investigation of Volkswagen’s diesel scandal has widened to its chairman, Hans Dieter Potsch, while he was chief financial officer for “alleged market manipulation,” the company announced Sunday.
“Based on careful examination by internal and external legal experts, the company reaffirms its belief that the Volkswagen Board of Management duly fulfilled its disclosure obligation under German capital markets law,” VW said in a statement.
Potsch was promoted to chairman amid a shakeup in September 2015.
Volkswagen said there’s no evidence the company’s management failed to disclose the diesel issue to financial markets as early as possible.
The company has been assessed $20 billion in fines, settlements and other costs from the scandal and the company is still facing criminal investigations in the U.S. and Germany. Former CEO Martin Winterkorn and other executives were being investigated, prosecutors said in September.
The automaker admitted it rigged about 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide with software to cheat emissions regulations.
On Oct. 25, a federal judge last month approved the company’s nearly $15 billion settlement with U.S. consumers and regulators.
About $10 billion is for buying back or repairing the affected vehicles — almost a half-million 2-liter diesel engine cars sold between 2009 and 2015.
