German Authorities Raid U. S. Law Firm Leading Volkswagen’s Emissions Inquiry -
By JACK EWING and BILL VLASICMARCH 16, 2017
FRANKFURT — German authorities searched the offices of the American law firm Volkswagen hired to conduct an internal investigation of its emissions
fraud, the carmaker confirmed on Thursday, raising questions about the credibility of the company’s efforts to uncover wrongdoing in its ranks.
Evidence collected by the law firm and shared with the American authorities formed the basis for Volkswagen’s
guilty plea in the United States last week over charges tied to emissions deception involving diesel engines.
But the search by prosecutors in Munich of Jones Day, which has a large presence in Germany, suggests
that the authorities believe the firm has not divulged all documents that may be relevant to the case.
The search and seizure of documents from the firm also signaled
that the German authorities have become more aggressive in pursuing criminal charges against the company and its luxury car unit Audi.
Still, Mr. Jahn said, it was unusual for prosecutors to seize documents from a law firm in an investigation of the firm’s client.
Documents the law firm collected were turned over to American courts, where they were used to secure indictments of six current
and former Volkswagen executives suspected of being architects of the fraud.
The raid targeted Jones Day, which since 2015 has been conducting a wide-ranging inquiry into who at Volkswagen was responsible for an emissions cheating scheme
that has already led to more than $22 billion in fines and settlements.
