Volkswagen emissions scandal

Volkswagen (VW) emissions crisis, also referred to as 'emissionsgate' and 'dieselgate.' The EPA issued a Notice of Violation to Volkswagen on September 18, 2015, after establishing that the business had created and installed software (known as "defeat devices") that significantly impaired the effectiveness of the diesel vehicles' emissions control system while on the road. The infractions occurred over the period of six model years (2009–15). The letter was signed by Phillip Brooks, director of the EPA's Air Enforcement Division, and was written to numerous Volkswagen and Audi corporate entities, as well as VW's outside counsel.

Volkswagen should have predicted it days, months, or even years ago. The day before the Notice of Violation, EPA and Volkswagen officials exchanged emails to schedule a high-level conference call for 9:00 a.m. the next morning. Brooks, a veteran of the Justice Department's Environmental Enforcement Section, had written Volkswagen an alarming follow-up the night before, requesting that its general counsel be present: "Please note that this is a call that Mr. [David] Geanacopolus would certainly want to make a priority."

The general counsel learned of the Notice of Violation during the call. This was only the beginning of an extraordinary series of events that would eventually result in costly litigation and criminal charges against Volkswagen and its CEO. To date, no auditors or lawyers associated with Volkswagen have been publicly identified as the subject of any investigation related to the scandal. Did any of them pass up chances to help prevent it?

Start Date: September 18, 2015

Locations: Around the World