German automaker Volkswagen AG is again faced with legal pressure because of its oil after the EU authorities for the first time recommended to press fraud charges against two representatives of the company, according to Dow Jones.
European office for combating frauds (OLAF) is investigating a November 2015 the question of how could the Volkswagen deliberately untargeted use of loans her financial body of the EU, the European investment Bank (EIB). This investigation, which focuses on two representatives of the company began after EIB voiced their concerns about this loan.
At least one Manager left the company, and the investigation is ongoing, said informed sources. The status of the second is unknown.
The main component of the charges – the loan of 400 million euros, which the EIB gave Volkswagen in 2009 with the aim to improve the environmental performance of the company. This loan has already been repaid.
Volkswagen rejected the possibility of any abuses in connection with the loan of the EIB. “We again emphasize that all funds received from Volkswagen of the EU, were used for the intended purpose; this also applies to loans extended in the past the European investment Bank”, – said the representative of the company.
Adjuster fraud recommended that the Prosecutor’s office of the German Braunschweig to take legal action against unnamed persons. OLAF pointed out that maintains contact with the German authorities in the instant case.
According to sources, representatives of Volkswagen have not reported relevant information in response to questions from the EIB, when the loan was discussed in 2008. Two of them at the time knew about the work on the fraudulent devices of auxiliary control, which could be used for lowering of exhaust during the tests. The regulator considers that withholding this information is a fraud according to German law.
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OLAF can only investigate cases of possible fraud on the part of organizations, companies or individuals in the EU, but cannot prosecute. However, the Bureau may recommend the adoption of legal measures national authorities. The representative of the EIB declared that the Bank “does not exclude that one of the loan of 400 million euros was linked to the technology of emissions control, developed at a time when it was developed and applied to fraudulent software.”
EIB started its own investigation regarding the loan of EUR 400 million shortly after OLAF, but stopped it to avoid duplication, when OLAF start his own investigation. EIB at the time, froze all new loans to Volkswagen. The Bank actively contributed to the investigation of OLAF. “The insights and evidence of the OLAF investigation into EIB will be carefully studied to determine suitable measures and their scale,” – said the representative of the Bank.
Recall that in Europe broke new diesel scandal – the shares of the three largest German carmakers fell after the German publication Der Spiegel published an investigation about the machinations of the largest manufacturers of Germany with harmful emissions from their diesel engines.
