Volkswagen’s Diesel Scandal Leads to One More Arrest

As of last month, approximately two years since news broke that Volkswagen had installed emissions-cheating software on hundreds of thousands of its diesel vehicles, eight current and former Volkswagen executives faced criminal charges in the U.S. in connection with the scandal. Oliver Schmidt, a senior manager at Volkswagen, pleaded guilty to charges that could result in as much as 169 years in prison. Now, it looks like there’s been another arrest, this time in Germany. 

Automotive News reports that Wolfgang Hatz, Volkswagen’s former top engineer, has been arrested by German authorities. Hatz oversaw all of Volkswagen Group’s powertrains during the time it dodged emissions laws and was a close ally of former CEO Martin Winterkorn. If true, this would make him the highest ranked employee that’s been arrested in connection with the diesel scandal.

Earlier today, German prosecutors confirmed they had arrested a VW executive but declined to name who it was. But the Munich-based Sueddeutscher Zeitung released a report naming Hatz. 

American authorities are also still looking extradite Giovanni Pamio, a former Audi manager who was arrested in Germany earlier this summer. He’s been charged in the U.S. with conspiring to commit fraud, but German officials still have him in custody while they conduct their own investigation. Additionally, James Liang, a former VW engineer, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and fined $200,000 for his role in the scandal.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)

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