Volkswagen AG is facing a fresh wave of bribery revelations as news reports claiming fresh allegations continue to surface.
Volkswagen AG is facing a fresh wave of bribery revelations as news reports claiming fresh allegations continue to surface.
One Munich-based daily has reported that several top-level employees allegedly operated a global network of camouflaged companies. It also stated that the local state prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig was investigating money reportedly transferred to the accounts of the six companies, The holding company, called Impesa, was based in Switzerland.
The emerging bribery scandal is focused on VW’s Czech-based Skoda division and has already sparked the shock resignations of two highly-influential employees. As a result, the final decision regarding the construction of two new factories in Angola and India has also been delayed.
Skoda’s head of human resources Helmuth Schuster resigned in June amid allegations that the he had accepted bribes from potential suppliers and that camouflage companies had been used to secure lucrative VW contracts abroad.
At the same time, the paper said it was suspected that Volkswagen’s management board agreed to bankroll leisure trips of its powerful works council to influence the council’s decisions.
Volkswagen’s turmoil continues even as its head, Wolfgang Bernhard, announced in a letter to employees recently that the company had reached its defining moment in the continued push towards restructuring and the improved quality of its products.