FBI arrests Volkswagen executive on fraud conspiracy charges
THE Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Volkswagen AG executive on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the New York Times reported on Monday.
Volkswagen AG executive Oliver Schmidt has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Oliver Schmidt, who headed the company's regulatory compliance office in the U.S. from 2014 to March 2015, was arrested on Saturday by federal investigators in Florida, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
VW admitted in September 2015 to installing secret software known as "defeat devices" in 475,000 U.S. 2.0-litre diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and make them appear cleaner in testing. In reality, the vehicles emitted up to 40 times the legally allowable pollution levels.
Volkswagen would not comment on the incident
Schmidt was arrested on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States
Volkswagen declined to comment on the reported arrest.
"Volkswagen continues to cooperate with the Department of Justice as we work to resolve remaining matters in the United States. It would not be appropriate to comment on any ongoing investigations or to discuss personnel matters," it said.
The FBI was not immediately available for comment.
He is expected to be brought before a court today
Schmidt is expected to be brought before court in Detroit today.
Senior VW officials are not attending this year's Detroit auto show, which is taking place this week.
The news comes as Volkswagen was nearing a deal to resolve criminal and civil allegations over its diesel cheating, crucial steps toward moving past the scandal, which has cost it billions of dollars and its reputation.
Volkswagen shares were up 2 percent at €141.75 by 0816 GMT, at the top of a 0.2 percent-weaker German blue-chip DAX, on the expected deal.