In a statement, Winterkorn’s lawyers rejected the Supervisory Board’s accusations, and Stadler’s lawyers made no comment. The allegations come following Volkswagen Group’s investigation led by the law firm Gleiss Lutz and following the examination of 1.6 million files and over 1,550 interviews.
According to Reuters, Volkswagen is seeking damages against its former bosses as an attempt to “draw a line under its biggest-ever crisis.” However, if that’s the main goal, then creating headlines with what will likely be a protracted legal case seems self-defeating. Even if Volkswagen Group won the cases, it’s also unlikely that the defendants will be able to cut the company a check for even a tiny portion of the $38 billion the scandal has cost.
