Another Volkswagen employee was arrested in the United States in conjunction with the VW emissions-testing scandal. According to one report, Oliver Schmidt, a Volkswagen AG executive, was arrested on Saturday in Miami and was charged in connection with the German auto giant’s emissions-cheating scandal. He is the second person arrested and charged participating in a broad conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and Volkswagen customers. Allegations indicate that Schmidt was not only well aware of the existence of the defeat devices in VW automobiles sold in the United States but that also he actively worked to deceive U.S. regulators.
If these allegations prove to be true, it could well be very damning for the executive level at VW. While there still is the lack of prosecution of executives or others domiciled in Germany, The Man From FCPA would certainly expect the U.S. executive team to have lawyering up in a very big way about now. Moreover, since it is unlikely Germany will allow any extraditions of German nationals, the U.S. law enforcement effort will likely be restricted to VW executives based in the United States. However, if VW executives, who are German citizens, travel through countries more amenable to U.S. extradition they may find themselves whisked off to face a judge in America.
