Prosecutors, Tax Authorities Raid Volkswagen Board Members – Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) –  The raids by Prosecutors and tax authorities were conducted in the offices of Volkswagen's finance chief Frank Witter, human resources head Karlheinz Blessing as well as supervisory board chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch, the Norddeutscher Rundfunk broadcaster reported on Wednesday, citing a company’s official. During the searches some documents and computers were confiscated.

READ MORE: Volkswagen Engineer in US Gets 3-Year Sentence in Emissions Scandal

While further details of the searches remain unknown, media reports suggested that the searches are likely to be linked to an investigation into suspected overpayments to the company’s work council chief Bernd Osterloh. The company has repeatedly refuted accusations of paying excessive salaries to Osterloh.

Volkswagen has faced a number of scandals within last two years. In 2015, the company turned out to be involved in falsifying emission test results for its diesel-engine cars, with Volkswagen admitting that 11 million of its vehicles worldwide had been fitted with such software and agreed to pay settlements totaling $15 billion.

Another scandal erupted in July when media reported that leading German automakers including Volkswagen coordinated their actions on matters such as designing diesel emissions treatment systems in diesel vehicles. Following the reports, the European Commission stated it was examining the allegations concerning the suspected price fixing.