Current Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess is under investigation by German authorities on suspicion of market manipulation in the company's emissions scandal, according to multiple reports in German media.
It was earlier confirmed that former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn was being probed on the matter, with another unnamed person, understood to be a current board member, also implicated. It now seems that, that person could be Diess.
The prosecutors’ office in Brunswick, Germany, which is also in charge of other investigations regarding VW, has said that the firm could have warned of possible financial losses related to the scandal earlier than it did.
Volkswagen publicly admitted on September 22, 2015 that it had installed a software in its diesel vehicles that evaded emissions testing in order to meet fuel economy claims. However, the latest findings suggest that internal documents reveal Winterkorn had known about it for over a year prior to this date.
Hans Dieter Poetisch, current VW chairman, who was the company’s finance boss at the time, is not under investigation.
The investigation is a result of a complaint by Germany’s financial regulator BaFin, the prosecutors' office said.
It added that Winterkorn and the then unnamed executive could face a penalty of up to five years in prison or a fine, if charged.
Last week, the VW Group announced its ‘Strategy 2025’, stating its intention to build between two and three million all-electric cars by 2025.
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