U.S. Arrests VW’s Top Emissions Exec In Diesel Scandal

The FBI has arrested and intends to indict Oliver Schmidt, Volkswagen AG’s top U.S. compliance officer, for conspiring to shield the company's diesel emission cheating from regulators, The New York Times reports.

Investigators say Schmidt advised higher-level VW executives in July 2015 about software used to evade emission tests, but they decided not to disclose it. He and others also presented a chart of possible outcomes, including an indictment if the software’s existence was revealed. The complaint doesn’t identify the others who participated in the meeting.

According to the complaint, Schmidt and others developed a plan a month later to continue the deception. In one case, they agreed to keep an employee away from a meeting with regulators in California to avoid forcing him to lie. In another email, Schmidt wrote that VW must “decide whether we are honest,” adding, “If we are not honest, everything stays as it is,” according to the complaint.

The documents show an unnamed VW witness told investigators he ultimately disclosed the existence of the fraudulent software to California regulators after being directly ordered not to by his superiors. The disclosure ultimately led to VW’s admission of guilt and an agreement to pay as much as $14.7 billion in restitution covering 475,000 4-cylinder diesels.