Dieselgate: the OAG closes the criminal proceedings in Switzerland

Dieselgate: the OAG closes the criminal proceedings in Switzerland
Dieselgate: the OAG closes the criminal proceedings in Switzerland

“Dieselgate” scandal

OAG closes criminal proceedings against Volkswagen in Switzerland

Germany’s fine against the car company prevents further prosecution by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

Published today at 3:31 p.m.

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The OAG closes the criminal proceedings linked to the manipulation of polluting emissions from Volkswagen vehicles. Reason: the conviction of the company to a fine by the public prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig (Germany) prevents any further prosecution by the OAG in Switzerland.

Such a prosecution is in fact excluded due to the transnational ban on double prosecution and double incrimination, explained the Federal Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday. The OAG therefore closed the criminal proceedings against Volkswagen AG.

The presumption of guilt against the company AMAG Import AG and against its responsible bodies and employees has not been established. This is why the OAG also closed the criminal proceedings against these defendants.

With this classification, it is the last of the seven avenues attempted in Switzerland to obtain justice in this case which is ending, regrets the French-speaking Consumer Federation (FRC). 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, notes the FRC, which is campaigning for the introduction of collective action in Switzerland.

Procedure since 2016

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

The responsible bodies and employees of AMAG were suspected of having harmed, between 2008 and 2015, in Switzerland – by having knowledge at least in part of the polluting emissions – around 175,000 buyers and lessees of Volkswagen group vehicles equipped with of diesel engines.

Nearly 2,000 criminal complaints

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

To coordinate the action of the prosecuting authorities and ensure a global solution at the Swiss level, these complaints were grouped together at the MPC. Given the impossibility of carrying out the extradition of German nationals outside Germany, the OAG requested in April 2016 from the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office the resumption of criminal proceedings.

This resumption having been confirmed, the MPC issued in 2016 an order not to enter into the matter for the complaints grouped under its jurisdiction. This order was the subject of an appeal to the Federal Criminal Court (TPF), which partially admitted it.

The TPF ordered the OAG to open criminal proceedings against Volkswagen, as well as against AMAG and its responsible bodies. However, the procedure concerning the responsible bodies of Volkswagen was closed.

Online platform for the injured

The MPC and fedpol then carried out searches and seized a large volume of data. For the approximately 175,000 potential injured parties identified in Switzerland, the MPC has created an online platform to inform them of their rights and help them become a complainant in the procedure. This solution has been used by around 5,500 people, he specifies.

Given the link between the procedures carried out in Switzerland and Germany, the OAG sent a request for mutual legal assistance to the German authorities in 2017. Its execution revealed that Volkswagen had been fined 1 billion euros in German proceedings for neglecting its supervisory duty in the companies.

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

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

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