German auto supplier IAV Gmbh has accepted to plead guilty and pay a $35 million fine for conspiring to help Volkswagen in its attempt to evade U.S. diesel emissions standards, the U.S. Justice Department stated on Tuesday.
IAV, which is 50 percent owned by Volkswagen, is set to serve two years of probation and will remain under the oversight of an independent monitor, the Justice Department stated. Volkswagen has earlier agreed to pay over $25 billion in the United States, owing to claims from automobile owners, environmental regulators, states and auto dealers, and has offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting automobiles in U.S.
Susan Bodine, assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, stated that “IAV designed the software that permitted VW to cheat U.S. air emissions standards.”
The Justice Department stated it would have looked for a higher fine however it could have jeopardized IAV’s viability.
“We take these matters very seriously and see this resolution as an important step forward for our company,” stated Kai-Stefan Linnenkohl, president and member of the IAV management board. “The misconduct discovered does not reflect who we are as a company today. We are committed to a culture of compliance and accountability.”
Justice Department official John Cronan stated Tuesday that the investigation by government into emissions cheating is continued and “we will follow the evidence wherever it leads”.
IAV is scheduled to plead guilty on January 18 in Detroit.
