Volkswagen, accused in France of fraud in the control of emissions

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The German car manufacturer Volkswagen is accused in France of fraud in the framework of the investigation related to the control of environmental pollution by diesel engines, reported the Europe 1 broadcaster.

According to the media, the consortium is accused of deception about products that endanger the health of humans or animals.

In particular, Volkswagen is suspected of installing inappropriate software on certain diesel engine models to pass emission controls.

The day before the French company Renault also announced that it was accused of fraud in relation to diesel cars of previous generations.

For its part, the Berlin Prosecutor's Office announced that it opened an investigation against the former president of Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn, for false testimony in the case of manipulation of emissions in diesel engines.

Winterkorn, 74, is accused of making false statements to the commission of inquiry into the emissions scandal in January 2017.

In particular, the former Volkswagen boss claimed that he did not become aware of the use of software that cheated emissions tests until the scandal broke in September 2015.

However, the investigation finds that Winterkorn was aware of this fraud since May 2015.

The Business Insider newspaper had already reported that the former director of Volkswagen was willing to compensate damages to the car company, paying about 10 million euros.

In 2015, the Volkswagen Group was already accused in the US of having installed software to reduce the figures for the true level of emissions. Back then, the US government forced the consortium to revoke 482,000 Volkswagen and Audi cars, sold in the country between 2009 and 2015.