Volkswagen Pleads Guilty In Emissions Scandal; Judge Sets Sentencing For Apr 21

(RTTNews) - Volkswagen AG (VKW.L, VLKAF.PK, VOW.BE) pleaded guilty on Friday to fraud, obstruction of justice and for misrepresenting the capability of vehicles with diesel engines it imported into the U.S. Sentencing was put off until April 21.

The automaker entered the formal plea in Detroit federal court Friday as it agreed to do two months ago as part of a $4.3 billion deal to settle claims over the emissions scandal.

Under deal, Volkswagen agreed pay a $2.8 billion criminal penalty as a result of company's long-running scheme to sell about 600,000 diesel vehicles in the U.S. by using software to suppress emissions of nitrogen oxide during tests.

In separate civil resolutions of environmental, customs and financial claims, VW has agreed to pay $1.5 billion. This includes EPA's claim for civil penalties against VW in connection with VW's importation and sale of these cars, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) claims for customs fraud. Overall, VW's total cost of the scandal has been pegged at about $21 billion, including a pledge to repair or buy back vehicles.

U.S. District Judge Sean Cox accepted the plea, but said in light of the "very, very serious" offenses, he wasn't comfortable approving the sentencing agreement immediately. "I just want more time to reflect and study" he said, adding that he will refer the case to the probation office for a report prior to the sentencing hearing.

Volkswagen admitted in 2015 that about 11 million diesel cars worldwide were outfitted with so-called defeat devices, embedded algorithms used to game emissions tests.