Swiss prosecutors close VW ‘Dieselgate’ case

"Dieselgate" scandal: in 2015 it emerged that millions of VW diesel-powered vehicles had been manipulated to pass environmental standards. Keystone-SDA

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has closed criminal proceedings relating to the Swiss owners affected by the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” emissions scandal. A fine imposed on VW in Germany prevents any further prosecution by the OAG in Switzerland.

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A prosecution would be impossible due to the transnational prohibition of double prosecution and double incrimination, explained the OAG on ThursdayExternal link. It has therefore closed the criminal proceedings against Volkswagen AG.

The presumption of guilt against the Swiss car importer AMAG Import AG and its responsible bodies and employees has not been established. The OAG has therefore also closed the criminal proceedings against these defendants.

In 2015 it emerged that millions of VW diesel-powered vehicles had been manipulated to pass environmental standards.

+ VW owners affected by “Dieselgate” in Switzerland will not receive compensation

With this decision, the last of seven possible ways of obtaining justice in Switzerland in this case has closed, regrets the Fédération romande des consommateurs (FRC) [consumer organisation for French-speaking Switzerland]. Without a legal instrument or the possibility of joining a complaint abroad, Swiss consumers are condemned to accept the refusal of any compensation from VW, said FRC, which is campaigning for the introduction of collective legal action in Switzerland.

Procedure since 2016

Since 2016, the OAG has been conducting criminal proceedings against Volkswagen and AMAG on suspicion of criminal liability of the company and against the responsible bodies and employees of AMAG, suspected of professional fraud.

 + Swiss driver wins first Dieselgate compensation case

AMAG and its employees were suspected of being responsible for violating the rights of 175,000 people who had bought and leased diesel vehicles from the Volkswagen Group in Switzerland between 2008 and 2015, as they had partial knowledge of the emissions issue.

Nearly 2,000 criminal complaints

Following the revelations concerning these manipulations, nearly 2,000 criminal complaints were filed up to March 2016, partly with cantonal public prosecutors throughout Switzerland and partly with the OAG.

In order to coordinate the action of the prosecuting authorities and ensure a comprehensive solution at the Swiss level, these complaints were grouped together at the OAG. Given the impossibility of extraditing German nationals from Germany, the OAG requested in April 2016 that the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office in Germany resume criminal proceedings.

After this was confirmed, Swiss prosecutors issued an order in 2016 stating that the complaints grouped under its jurisdiction were inadmissible. This order was the subject of an appeal to the Federal Criminal Court, which partially admitted it.

The Federal Criminal Court ordered the OAG to open criminal proceedings against Volkswagen, AMAG and its responsible bodies. The proceedings concerning the responsible bodies of Volkswagen have, however, been closed.

Searches and online platform

The OAG and the Federal Office of Police then conducted searches and seized a large volume of data. The OAG created an online platform for the 175,000 potential injured parties identified in Switzerland to inform them of their rights and help them to become a complainant in the procedure. Approximately 5,500 people used this option, it said.

In view of the connection between the proceedings in Switzerland and Germany, the OAG sent a request for mutual legal assistance to the German authorities in 2017. It revealed that Volkswagen had been fined €1 billion in the German proceedings for neglecting its duty of supervision in companies.

In 2021, the OAG stated that it wanted to stop the criminal proceedings against the manufacturer and the importer, saying that it lacked justification “to issue a criminal order or an indictment”.

The imposition of a fine by the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office in Germany now prevents criminal prosecution of the company in the Swiss proceedings. However, this decision can still be appealed.

Translated from French with DeepL/sb

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