The US government wants a former Audi manager to be held responsible for alleged involvement in the emissions scandal of the Volkswagen Group. Against the 60-year-old Italian, who is accused of conspiracy for fraud and violations of US environmental law, criminal charges were filed with the Detroit federal court in the US state of Michigan.
This was the responsibility of The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday in Washington. Giovanni Pamio was accused of having led a team of engineers from the Audi’s parent company VW from about 2006 to November 2015 and was responsible for disguising exhaust emissions of the models for the US market. According to US investigators, this was a conspiracy for the systematic manipulation of emission test of the pollutant nitric oxide by means of special software for eliminating exhaust gas tests.
The defendant was alleged to have been part of the conspiracy in which this deliberate exhaust gas fraud, and thus the violation of the Air Pollution Law, was found and ordered. VW cleared the manipulations after accusations by the US environmental authorities in September 2015 and had already booked 22.6 billion euros in legal costs for the settlement of complaints in North America because of the scandal.
While the criminal prosecution in the USA with these comparisons on corporate level was taken, the authorities there continue to try to bring personal accountants accountable. The ex-Audi manager who has now been sued is already the eighth employee of the VW group against which the US Department of Justice has filed criminal charges.
So far, however, only two defendants have been arrested. One was arrested in Florida earlier this year and is currently awaiting his criminal trial. In September 2016, another had issued a debt confiscation and negotiated a leniency deal. He is on a bail at liberty and awaits his verdict.
The other defendants suspect the US justice in Germany, from where they are not threatened with extradition. However, the search for the men who want to prosecute the US authorities could still develop into a regular crime.
In any case, the scandal, which had affected some eleven million diesel cars around the world, was still far away for VW and Audi. Criminal investigations are also taking place in Germany. In addition, there are numerous complaints from shareholders in Europe as well as civil lawsuits by car owners. Until now, the VW Group is reluctant to pay compensation outside North America.
