NATIONAL NEWS - A US-based Volkswagen executive who supervised company activities related to vehicle emissions, was sentenced to seven years in jail and fined R5,6-million by a judge earlier this month for his role in the diesel emissions scandal that has actually cost the automaker about R420-billion.
The prison sentence and fine for Oliver Schmidt, a German national, were the highest possible under a plea deal that he made with prosecutors in August.
The company confessed to charges of conspiring to misinform US regulators and breach clean-air laws.
"It is my view that you are an essential conspirator in this plan to defraud the United States," US district judge Sean Cox of Detroit informed Schmidt in court.
"You saw this as your opportunity to shine … and climb the corporate ladder at Volkswagen."
Schmidt submitted a written statement in court acknowledging his guilt and broke down when talking of his family's sacrifices on his behalf since his arrest in January.
"I made bad decisions and for that I am sorry," he stated.
US Department of Justice trial attorney Benjamin Singer debated in court that Schmidt was "part of the decision-making process" at the automaker to conceal a plan to fake automobile emissions results and had several opportunities to tell regulators the truth.
In March, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to three felony counts under a plea agreement to deal with US charges. It set up secret software in vehicles in order to fool emissions tests.
US prosecutors have charged eight present and previous Volkswagen executives. Six of those remain at large.
Schmidt may apply for permission to serve his sentence in Germany.
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