DOJ Finds Evidence of Criminal Actions in Dieselgate Scandal

2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI engine (Credit: Volkswagen)

Just when we thought there was light at the end of the tunnel in Volkswagen’s dieselgate scandal, a new issue arises. This time around, however, we are talking about criminal prosecution, not just cheating the emissions laws.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice found evidence of criminal wrongdoing associated with selling vehicles with illegally dirty cars. In an attempt to mitigate its damages, WSJ is reporting that VW is negotiating a financial settlement with the DOJ.

Years back, Toyota went through a similar issue with its unintended acceleration recall. This cost the Japanese automaker a whopping $1.2 billion. Chances are that this case will set back VW even more, adding significantly to the roughly $15 billion it already has to shell out for its cheating scandal. This $15 billion will go toward buying back affected cars, repairing them, investing in future green technology, and monetary settlements to owners of affected cars.

As of now, there are no criminal charges in the works, but this could change as the investigation continues.

Currently, the only vehicles that have a fix in place are those fitted with the 2.0-liter TDI engine. These fixes are currently being tested by CARB and the EPA. The 3.0-liter TDI engine is still in a holding pattern, for now.

We’ll continue monitoring this case and bring you updates as they become available. Stay tuned for more.