Rumorpile: Volkswagen's New CEO Testified To Officials At Justice Department

Yesterday, we reported that Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess got a safe-passage deal from the U.S. Justice Department. This type of deal is very unusual and it was speculated that U.S. wasn't planning to charge Diess over the diesel emission scandal, or that he provided some sort of testimony. We might have an answer to how Diess got this deal.

German tabloid Bild reports that Diess traveled to the U.S. last week to testify about the diesel emission scandal. Representatives from the FBI and Justice Department were present, as was Larry Thompson, the U.S. monitor appointed last year to oversee reforms at the company. Unfortunately, Bild doesn't mention any sources.

Reuters did some investigating and got conflicting stories. One source told the news service that Diess and Thompson recently traveled to the U.S. recently with "relevant authorities", without going into further detail. Another source denied that a meeting took place last week, saying Diess met with spoke with authorities a few months ago.

Volkswagen declined to comment.

Our guess is that Diess was given a safe-passage deal from the U.S. Justice Department if he would provide testimony on the diesel emission scandal. We'll keep you posted if anything breaks on this story.

Source: Bild (Subscription Required), Reuters