FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German prosecutors said Thursday they had fined car parts supplier Bosch €90 million (US$100 million) over its role supplying components in the “dieselgate” emissions cheating scandal.
Stuttgart investigators “levied a fine against Robert Bosch GmbH for negligently infringing its quality control obligations,“ they said in a statement, adding that the German company had agreed not to contest the fine.
The €90 million sum is made up of a penalty of two million, while the remaining 88 million covers the estimated economic benefit Bosch gained from the crimes.
Beginning in 2008, Bosch “delivered around 17 million motor control and mixture control devices to various domestic and foreign manufacturers, some of whose software contained illegal strategies,“ the prosecutors found.
“Cars fitted with the devices emitted more nitrogen oxides than allowed under regulations.”
Volkswagen admitted in 2015 to fitting 11 million cars worldwide with such technology, and the fallout has so far cost the German car behemoth more than €30 billion. Further legal proceedings are outstanding against both VW and former executives as individuals.
For Bosch, the fine closes legal proceedings against the company over dieselgate.
While prosecutors are still probing whether employees were involved in criminal actions, authorities believe “the initiative for the integration and form of the illegal strategies both came from employees at the car manufacturers” rather than suppliers like Bosch. — AFP
