Attorneys General Challenge Volkswagen Over Emissions Scandal

The attorneys general of three U.S. states have challenged Volkswagen’s defense over its emissions scandal, saying the company perpetrated a decade-long fraud with the participation of senior executives including the CEO. The lawsuit, filed this week by New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland, claims that Volkswagen’s chief executive Matthias Müller was aware of the 2006 decision not to equip Audi vehicles with equipment needed to meet American emissions standards. Instead, Volkswagen installed software meant to mislead regulators and the public. Volkswagen last month agreed to pay $15 billion to settle claims from U.S. vehicle owners and regulators. The company has said that its top management was unaware of the decision, but the New York complaint, drawing on internal Volkswagen documents, emails, and witness statements, describes a work environment that allowed a “willful and systematic scheme of cheating.” “The idea that this level of fraud could take place and involve so many people at such high levels of a major international corporation is appalling,” New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said.