German public prosecutors have launched an investigation into suspected tax evasion in connection with the emissions scandal that has rocked carmaker Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), daily paper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and broadcasters NDR and WDR said in a joint report.
The investigation focuses on five Volkswagen employees and concerns several million euros of evaded tax payments linked to rigging of CO2 emissions, they said on Tuesday, citing a spokesman for prosecutors in Braunschweig near Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg.
Europe’s largest automaker admitted on Nov. 3 that carbon dioxide emissions data of some 800,000 cars were false and said compensation payments to customers and other costs related to the malfeasance could amount to 2 billion euros ($2.13 billion).
A car’s level of CO2 emissions helps determine how much tax car owners must pay every year.
REUTERS
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