VW Executive Executive Arrested – Held in Munich Without Bail

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The NY Times’ Jack Ewing reports on German prosecutors action on corporate wrongdoing contributing to the existential threat of Climate Change we all face:

“FRANKFURT — An investigation into Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal expanded significantly on Thursday after German authorities arrested a former high-ranking executive of the carmaker, two people with knowledge of the arrest said.

The executive, identified by German news outlets as Wolfgang Hatz, is a former chief of engine development at Volkswagen. He worked closely with Matthias Müller, now the company’s chief executive, when both were members of the management board of the carmaker’s Porsche unit. Mr. Hatz was being held in Munich without bail.

Mr. Hatz, well known in automotive circles because of his previous role as chief of research and development at Porsche, is the second person to be arrested in Germany in connection with the Volkswagen case and the first German citizen. His prominence signals that the investigation — which has proceeded slowly since the wrongdoing came to light two years ago — may be entering a more intense phase….

“Mr. Hatz was suspended from his position at Porsche soon after Mr. Winterkorn resigned, and he formally left the company in May 2016. Little had been heard about him since then, and he was not among six people indicted by U.S. prosecutors in January.”