The Crime Book

131

A portable emissions

measurement system is shown

attached to the exhaust of a car during

tests performed by Germany’s biggest

independent technical testing agency.

See also: The Enron Scandal 122–23 ■ The Siemens Scandal 126–27

WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

nitrogen oxide. In September 2015,

Volkswagen admitted that

11 million VW and Audi 2.0 litre

diesel cars had been equipped with

software used to cheat on

emissions tests. The auto giant’s

chief executive Martin Winterkorn

apologized and resigned.

The ringleader

US investigators reviewed 1.5

million documents as part of its

criminal probe into the scandal.

Key to the investigation was James

Robert Liang, a German citizen

who headed the Volkswagen Diesel

Competence team in the US. He

had been a member of the team

of engineers that developed the

so-called “clean diesel” engine in

Germany. According to court

documents, he and his colleagues

concluded they could not design a

diesel engine that would meet the

strict US emissions standards,

so they designed and implemented

software that would cheat the

emissions tests instead.

In June 2016, VW agreed to a

separate civil settlement to pay

regulators and consumers up to

VW recalls millions of cars

worldwide and agrees to pay $15 billion

(£12 billion) to settle claims in the US

Defeat device software put into 11 million VW engines

to fool emissions tests

During emissions test, car produces low emissions

and passes the test

Testing at the University of West Virginia in May 2014

reveals the diesel dupe

On the road, engine emits nitrogen oxide at

40 times the allowable level

$15 billion (£12 billion). The deal,

announced in August 2016,

involved 652 US car dealers.

In September 2016, Liang

pleaded guilty to US federal

charges for his role in the scandal

and agreed to cooperate with the

investigation of other Volkswagen

employees. It came out that Liang

had answered questions from

environmental regulators about the

engines’ test results, knowing they

were false. Federal investigators

further contended that Liang

emailed colleagues in Germany

about the software while

committing the crimes in the US.

Liang faces up to five years in

a US prison, deportation following

his release, and a fine of up to

$250,000 (£200,000). However, this

is unlikely to be the end of the

scandal: the company still faces

criminal and civil litigation. ■

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