Former Volkswagen Group chief executive Martin Winterkorn is reportedly going to pay the car group €10 million in damages. That reports news site Business Insider that has seen a draft document of the settlement.
The deal is yet to be discussed by Volkswagen’s supervisory board. The shareholders would also still have to agree. Winterkorn is going to pay the millions because of the diesel scandal that played out at the Volkswagen Group years ago. He was the head of Volkswagen at the time, but has always denied being responsible for the affair.
Volkswagen announced in March that it would seek damages from Winterkorn and other former executives for allegedly neglecting their duties. Winterkorn is accused of providing the US authorities with incorrect, late and incomplete answers to questions about the manipulation of the emissions of the 2.0 TDI. Winterkorn has also been charged with fraud in the United States, where the cheating software was discovered. However, Germany does not extradite its residents. In Germany itself, a criminal investigation is also underway against the former CEO and other former directors.
The diesel scandal came to light in 2015. At the time, the company admitted to manipulating emissions testing on a large scale with cheat software, making diesel cars appear cleaner than they actually were. The issue has already cost Volkswagen many billions in fines and repair costs. Compensation has already been paid in some countries.