VW Opts to Keep Diesel Cheating Report Secret

Volkswagen AG tells shareholders it won’t release the findings of an independent probe into its diesel emission scandal because doing so would raise the risk of “massive” fines and multiple lawsuits.

VW previously pledged to release the findings of U.S. law firm Jones Day. But Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch says legal reasons “prevent” VW from publishing the report, which he describes as “one of the most comprehensive in Germany corporate history.”

But Poetsch asserts VW is “prevented” from releasing the findings for legal reasons. The company says its $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Dept. of Justice last June prevents it from presenting conclusions other than those outlined in the department’s summary “statement of facts.”

But shareholder rights advocate Christian Strenger disagrees. He describes the VW board’s position as “insufficient and almost insulting.” Strenger claims the U.S. settlement contains a specific option that allows VW to present new information to the Justice Dept. without risk.

Critics say VW has resisted making meaningful changes in a bureaucratic and hierarchical corporate culture that fostered the diesel cheating. The company has agreed to pay as much as $25 billion in the U.S. for government fines, state lawsuits and owner compensation programs.