Volkswagen faces about $10.7 billion investor suit for dieselgate scandal

Volkswagen faces a trial next week as investors look for 9.2 billion euros ($10.7 billion) in compensation arguing that the automaker should have told shareholders regarding a diesel pollution scandal before regulators did in September 2015.

The lawsuit bundles 1,670 claims brought mostly by Volkswagen’s institutional shareholders who have alleged the automaker of failing to tell investors regarding the scope of a scandal that has cost the company 27.4 billion euros in penalties and fines.

Had the automaker warned investors about the size of the scandal prior the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a “notice of violation” on September 18 2015 then institutional investors may have avoided losses on their shareholdings, plaintiffs stated.

Volkswagen shares lost up to 37 percent of their value in the days following the exposure by authorities regarding illegal levels of pollution emitted from Volkswagen diesel vehicles.

Volkswagen has confessed systematic emissions cheating however rejects wrongdoing in matters of regulatory disclosure.