Volkswagen AG (VW) announced on Tuesday that it had drafted with U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Customs and Border Protection a concrete settlement agreement to cease the criminal and civil claims regarding Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal.
The Germany's largest automobile manufacturer said in an ad hoc announcement released on its website that it agreed to pay total fines of 4.3 billion U.S. dollars, and to further strengthen the Compliance and Control-Systems including the appointment of an Independent Monitor for the next three years.
The final conclusion of the settlement agreement remains to be approved by the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of VW, as well as by the U.S. regulator.
In terms of financial impact of the heavy fines on the annual result 2016, the firm said it is hard to make definition at present stage due to "its dependency on various further factors."
Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 that it programmed the vehicles to turn on emission controls during legally mandated tests and turn them off while on the road, emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide. Worldwide, about 11 million vehicles were installed with the device to fool tests.
In January 2016, the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil complaint in a federal court in Detroit, Michigan, against Volkswagen, along with its Audi and Porsche units.
The complaint alleged that nearly 600,000 diesel engine vehicles sold by Volkswagen in the U.S. market had illegal defeat devices installed.
The scandal quickly spread elsewhere in the world, particularly in Europe, leading to recall millions of diesel cars which use software to cheat emissions tests.
