Photo: Volkswagen
Volkswagen’s Dieselgate does not cease to be newsworthy, and it appears that things continue to happen even after the automaker stopped cheating.
The latest in the series involves a law firm called Jones Day, which was hired by the German conglomerate to perform an internal investigation within the VW Group to find "the ins and outs" of the emissions cheat.
Their conclusions were important for Volkswagen, and this was something that the investigators on the case acknowledged.
Munich prosecutors then decided to raid the German offices of Jones Day two days ago, on the same day when the headquarters of Audi were surprised with an unannounced visit from the authorities. Evidently, the search was meant to help investigators find everyone responsible for developing and approving the “defeat device.”
The raid on the law firm’s office has raised suspicion regarding the level of disclosure of the lawyers hired by Volkswagen. Some believe that authorities think that the legal team knows more than it divulged, which would be a severe blow for the automaker and its defenders.
We do not believe that a company would take risks to this level after the Dieselgate scandal, and not when the entire world is watching the case.
Volkswagen was not happy to hear that investigators raided the offices of the law firm it hired for an internal review. The company issued a press release to comment the situation, and the action was described by VW’s officials as “unacceptable in every respect,” and a “clear breach of the principles of the rule of law in Germany.”
The automaker’s officials have threatened to take all action at their disposal against these proceedings. If the investigators did find incriminating evidence in their search, but lacked the proper warrants and approvals, the German conglomerate could have a shot of dismissing the evidence in court. It all depends on legal matters that are too complicated to discuss on an automotive website.
Their conclusions were important for Volkswagen, and this was something that the investigators on the case acknowledged.
Munich prosecutors then decided to raid the German offices of Jones Day two days ago, on the same day when the headquarters of Audi were surprised with an unannounced visit from the authorities. Evidently, the search was meant to help investigators find everyone responsible for developing and approving the “defeat device.”
The raid on the law firm’s office has raised suspicion regarding the level of disclosure of the lawyers hired by Volkswagen. Some believe that authorities think that the legal team knows more than it divulged, which would be a severe blow for the automaker and its defenders.
We do not believe that a company would take risks to this level after the Dieselgate scandal, and not when the entire world is watching the case.
Volkswagen was not happy to hear that investigators raided the offices of the law firm it hired for an internal review. The company issued a press release to comment the situation, and the action was described by VW’s officials as “unacceptable in every respect,” and a “clear breach of the principles of the rule of law in Germany.”
The automaker’s officials have threatened to take all action at their disposal against these proceedings. If the investigators did find incriminating evidence in their search, but lacked the proper warrants and approvals, the German conglomerate could have a shot of dismissing the evidence in court. It all depends on legal matters that are too complicated to discuss on an automotive website.
Google News