According to an investigation initiated by Volkswagen, six men from various boards of the company breached their “duty of care” regarding the company’s long-term diesel engine emissions scheme.
The investigation commissioned by Volkswagen was conducted by the law firm Gleiss Lutz, examining the board members’ activities during the period when the company used code to deceive emissions tests for its diesel engines.
After reviewing around 1.6 million relevant files, conducting 1550 interviews, and considering evidence uncovered by authorities worldwide, investigators concluded that Martin Winterkorn, the group’s CEO, and Rupert Stadler, Audi’s director, were the only board members who violated the “duty of diligence under the law of joint-stock companies.”
Gleiss Lutz stated that since mid-2015, Winterkorn was guilty of not “thoroughly and promptly clarifying the circumstances behind the use of illegal software functions in 2.0-liter TDI diesel engines sold in the North American market between 2009 and 2015,” as well as failing to “ensure that questions posed by U.S. authorities in this context were answered truthfully, completely, and without delay.”
The investigation also concluded that former Audi board members Ulrich Hackenberg and Stefan Knirsch, as well as Wolfgang Hatz from Porsche and Heinz-Jakob Neusser from Volkswagen passenger cars, were guilty of “negligent breach of duty.”
Volkswagen is currently assessing whether to claim damages from Hackenberg, Knirsch, and Hatz. Legal proceedings have already been initiated against Neusser.
Winterkorn was the CEO of the Volkswagen Group from 2007 to 2015, resigning after the Dieselgate scandal was revealed. He is widely credited with driving the development of the MQB and MLB architectures, which underpin most of the automaker’s vehicles.
Stadler was appointed CEO of Audi in 2010 and was arrested in 2018 as German authorities believed he was attempting to suppress evidence related to Dieselgate investigations. Volkswagen severed ties with Stadler at the end of that year.
