The former CEOs Karl-Thomas Neumann and Elmar Degenhart, former CFO Wolfgang Schäfer and Jose Avila, who used to be in charge of the drive division, are among those involved, the "Handelsblatt" reported on Friday, without citing sources. The sum involved is in the three-digit millions.
Supervisory Board Chairman Wolfgang Reitzle told the newspaper that the public prosecutor's investigation had uncovered serious breaches of duty that had resulted in considerable damage for Continental. In particular, this involved a fine of €100 million. According to the newspaper, the lawyers of the former board members did not comment on the allegations.
Continental stated that the company had suffered considerable damage as a result of the fine. The fine was based on various breaches of duty by different people, which were confirmed by the internal investigation.
According to the public prosecutor's office in Hanover, Continental delivered more than twelve million engine control units from mid-2007 onwards that were used to manipulate exhaust emissions. The software ensures that the nitrogen oxide limits are only met on the test bench. The technology was also used in the VW diesel engine, which was at the center of the emissions scandal that came to light in 2015.
(Report by Christina Amann. Edited by Olaf Brenner. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at Berlin.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and business) or Frankfurt.Newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)
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