A federal judge in Detroit on Friday sentenced Volkswagen AG (VW) to three years’ probation and independent oversight for the German automaker’s diesel emissions scandal as part of a US$4.3 billion settlement announced in January.
The plea agreement called for “organization probation,” in which the company would be overseen by an independent monitor.
MOVING ON
The sentencing was one of the last major hurdles to Volkswagen moving past a scandal that led to the ousting of its chief executive officer and tarnished the company’s reputation worldwide.
“This is a case of deliberate and massive fraud,” US District Judge Sean Cox said in approving the settlement that required the automaker to make significant reforms.
He also formally approved a US$2.8 billion criminal fine as part of the sentence.
As well as accepting the agreement reached between Volkswagen and the US government, Cox rejected separate calls from lawyers representing individual Volkswagen customers for restitution.
MAKING RESTITUTIONS
The German automaker last month pleaded guilty to fraud, obstruction of justice and falsifying statements after admitting to installing secret software in 580,000 US vehicles.
Since the September 2015 disclosure that it intentionally cheated on emissions tests for at least six years, the company has agreed to spend up to US$25 billion in the US to address claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and to make buyback offers.
Speaking on behalf of Volkswagen, general counsel Manfred Doess said the company “deeply regrets the behavior that gave rise to this case. Plain and simple, it was wrong.”
The US Department of Justice on Friday announced that it had selected former deputy US attorney general Larry Thompson to serve as the company’s independent monitor.
EXECS ON TRIAL
The department has charged seven current and former Volkswagen executives with crimes related to the scandal. One executive is in custody and awaiting trial and another pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate.
US prosecutors in January said that five of the seven are believed to be in Germany.
They have not been arraigned.
German prosecutors also are conducting a criminal probe of Volkswagen’s excess diesel emissions.
“We have worked tirelessly to address the misconduct that took place within our company and make things right for our affected customers,” the company said in a statement on Friday. “Volkswagen today is not the same company it was 19 months ago.”
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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