The logo of German automaker Volkswagen is seen at a factory in Germany, with smoke in the background (Photo: Getty Images/Archive)
Volkswagen on Wednesday announced a deal with former executives that will see the German automaker receive 288 million euros ($351 million) in compensation related to a scandal over fraudulent emissions testing.
The deal came on the same day that Berlin prosecutors accused the group’s former chief executive Martin Winterkorn of giving perjury to the German parliament after he said he did not know the automaker had manipulated diesel engine tests before they went public .
Winterkorn left office in September 2015, a week after the scandal – in which the group admitted to using illegal software to cheat diesel engine tests in the United States.
The scandal cost the company more than €32 billion in vehicle repairs, fines and court costs and prompted the group to begin a major investment in electric cars. The company initially blamed a small number of engineers for the scam.
The deal announced on Wednesday includes a payment of €270 million primarily in directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance. And it still needs to be approved at the group’s annual general meeting on July 22.
A Winterkorn spokesman declined to comment on the charges leveled against him by Berlin prosecutors.
Volkswagen said in late March it would claim damages for breaches of fiduciary duty from Winterkorn and former Audi chief Rupert Stadler.
Volkswagen concluded that Winterkorn breached its duty by not fully and quickly explaining the circumstances behind the use of illegal software functions in certain diesel engines sold in North America between 2009 and 2015.
As part of the agreement, Winterkorn and Stadler will pay €11.2 million and €4.1 million, respectively.
Volkswagen said former Audi board member Stefan Nirsch has agreed to pay €1 million, and former Porsche board member Wolfgang Heitz will pay €1.5 million.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Jan Schwartz, Thomas Escritt and Sabine Siebold)
