VW CEO Winterkorn has already been informed in 2014 about irregularities – SPIEGEL ONLINE

The former head of carmaker Volkswagen has already 2014 first informed of problems with diesel engines. This is apparent from an explanation of the Landgericht Braunschweig, has been received in the VW on the history of the gas scandal.

Thus was created over irregularities in the engine EA 189 on May 23, 2014 note Winterkorn overlooking a study by the Institute ICCT year, 2014. This had been settled its extensive Weekend Post. “Whether and to what extent Mr. Winterkorn has taken note of this note then knowledge is not documented.” On November 14, 2014 gave a further note to him.

A meeting among others to “diesel-topic” in the US there was loud VW on 27 July 2015, the presence of Winterkorn and VW brand chief Herbert Diess. “Specific details of this meeting have not yet been reconstructed,” it says.

the end of August 2015, lawyers of the VW Law Department has been fully explained by technicians, the technical causes had the irregularities found during the nitrogen oxide emissions in the US.

“These detailed explanations resulted in members Volkswagen Board to the conclusion that it was a software change that had to be classified under US law as inadmissible ‘Defeat Device’. ” On September 3, this knowledge was communicated to the US environmental authorities Carb and EPA, Winterkorn had been informed through a note dated 4 September.

The group wants preliminary results of a study of the law firm appointed Jones Day pickup in the second half of April. In the current release VW reiterated a “group of persons” was responsible for the software manipulation, on levels below the Board’s work.

VW objection against derivative action

the reason for the release of the group was a contradiction, the VW Landgericht Braunschweig appealed against shareholder lawsuits related to the diesel exhaust scandal. “Volkswagen holds the pending shareholder lawsuits are unfounded,” the company said.

The VW shares had fallen in September after the outbreak of the exhaust scandal, some shareholders want to be replacing their losses by the Group. VW would much sooner have to inform about the emerging scandal because losses threatened. but Volkswagen believes it has satisfied all disclosure requirements.

The disclosure requirements for listed companies is regulated in Germany in the Securities Trading Act. It requires companies to make all information that can potentially move the share price, promptly made public.

This ad hoc duty had not been injured, the company said. The board had only on 18 September 2015 – just before the scandal broke – become aware of material information about the manipulation of diesel engines, it said

VW saw no evidence of price-sensitive. information

but 18 September last year had not VW, but the US environmental Protection agency the process publicly. VW conceded the manipulations that affect approximately eleven million vehicles worldwide, only two days later.

VW arises in response to the action of the shareholders to the view that the concern had by until the release of First Details the EPA had “no evidence of market price sensitive information”. “Because was up to this point of a manageable number of vehicles (about 500,000) and fines to go out in a two-digit or lower three-digit million range.”

We have then assumed the revealed manipulations were “by conventional and thus rate-neutral measures, including effective technical solutions to manage. ”

After it turned out that this is not the case, VW had on September 22 collects the profit targets for 2015 and announced that for the refurbishment of the scandal, as for recalls of vehicles, 6.5 billion euros

tags to be covered. above is listed in the Dax Volkswagen shares had fallen by nearly 20 percent, the largest carmaker in Europe lost time in a few hours on the exchange twelve billion euro. Two days later, the then chief executive Martin Winterkorn resigned.