Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech has told prosecutors that he knew of no inappropriate payments in a bribery scandal at the auto maker, the Brunswick prosecutors office told Reuters.
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Piech, formerly VW’s chief executive, reportedly testified as a voluntary witness in the prosecutors’ investigation, which is looking into allegations of kickbacks, slush funds and sex-for-favours at Europe’s biggest carmaker.
The news agency noted that the scandal made front pages across Germany for weeks last summer and led to the resignations of Peter Hartz, VW’s personnel chief, and Klaus Volkert, head of its powerful works council.
The suspected wrongdoing includes events that occurred during Piech’s reign as chief executive of Volkswagen, Reuters said.
The prosecutor’s office told Reuters the hearing revolved entirely around granting trips and favours that were not necessary for those involved to carry out their jobs.
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By GlobalData” Piech made it clear that he had no knowledge of inappropriate expenditures. The account through which these events were expensed did not come under his supervision due to their relatively low costs per annum,” the statement reportedly said.
The news agency added that Volkswagen has since introduced an ombudsmen system to help combat corruption in its ranks, after hiring accountancy firm KPMG to perform an external audit into its books.
