[ad_1]
According to a civil lawsuit filed Thursday in a San Francisco court, Volkswagen issued $ 13 billion worth of bonds and asset-backed securities in the US market between April 2014 and May 2015 at a momentum that more than 500,000 US diesel vehicles exceeded by far the emissions standards, writes the BBC.
Volkswagen "has made millions of dollars in profits by issuing more advantageous securities for the company," according to the SEC, adding that VW "has repeatedly lied and misled investors, consumers and regulators in the US. United in an illegal plan to sell to the United States alleged non-polluting diesel vehicles, corporate bonds and other types of securities. "
The SEC is asking Winterkorn not to be allowed to sit in a public company in the United States and recover "illegally acquired benefits" in addition to criminal fines and interest.
Winterkorn, who resigned a few days after the release of the diesel scandal in September 2015, was charged in 2018 with conspiracy to cover the treatment of diesel pollution tests. It's in Germany.
Volkswagen has announced in a press release that the SEC's complaint "is legally and falsely incorrect and that Volkswagen will be fighting fiercely." The SEC has filed an unprecedented complaint regarding securities sold only to sophisticated investors who do not have suffered and who received all interest and principal payments in full and on time ", according to the German group.
The automaker added that the SEC "accuses no one involved in the issuance of bonds that Volkswagen's diesel vehicles do not comply with US emissions regulations at the time of the sale of bonds "and reiterates the charges brought against Winterkorn sell the securities".
A Winterkorn lawyer could not be contacted on Friday morning for comments.
Volkswagen has agreed to pay $ 25 billion to the United States as part of the emissions scandal, compensating car owners, environmental regulators, federal states and dealers. The group also proposed to buy back approximately 500,000 polluting vehicles in the United States. The sum includes civil and criminal fines of $ 4.3 billion.
The SEC claims instead that VW "has not refunded fraudulent earnings worth hundreds of millions of dollars."
VW admitted in September 2015 to have secretly installed software on 500,000 US vehicles to deceive the emissions tests, and in 2017, he admitted his guilt. In the United States, 13 people were charged, including Winterkorn and four Audi divisions.
The SEC also covers the divisions of VW Credit and Volkswagen Group of America Finance, the entity by which the bonds were issued.
If you enjoy this article, we expect you to join the community of readers on our Facebook page through the option I like below:
Source link