Volkswagen is nearing a $4.3bn settlement with the US regulators that would include pleading guilty to several criminal charges in the diesel emissions scandal.
The company is in advanced discussions with the USDepartment of Justice and US Customs and Border Protection.
The final conclusion of the settlement deal needs to secure approval from the company's management board and the supervisory board and the competent corporate bodies of further Group Companies involved
A final conclusion of the settlement agreement is further subject to the execution by the competent US authorities and to theapproval of the competent US courts.
The scandal came to light in 2014 after a series of tests conducted by the University of West Virginia found that Volkswagen’s vehicles polluted much more on roads than during emission tests.
The company admitted to using cheating software in 2015 in several thousands of cars in the US and about 11 million vehicles were estimated to be on road worldwide with such a software, as state by Reuters.
Due to the cheat software, Volkswagen’s cars could release about 40 times more than legal limit of nitrogen oxides and still pass the emissions test.
It has also agreed to pay about $17bn in June last year and compensate about 480,000 vehicle owners in the US through buybacks or fix.
In early December, last year the European Commission took a legal action against Germany and the UK for not imposing strict emissions laws against Volkswagen.
