Volkswagen Agrees to $4.3 Billion Settlement With CBP, DOJ on Diesel Engines

release (here). The company agreed to pay $4.3 billion in criminal and civil fines. It will also plead "guilty to three felonies: conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit wire fraud, and to violate the Clean Air Act; obstruction of justice; and importation of goods by false statements," said the DOJ. Volkswagen will pay $1.45 billion to resolve the EPA and CBP civil claims, said the DOJ in a more detailed release (here). “Volkswagen’s attempts to dodge emissions standards and import falsely certified vehicles into the country represent an egregious violation of our nation’s environmental, consumer protection and financial laws,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The company already agreed to pay up to $14.7 billion to mitigate pollution and buy back the affected vehicles, which were equipped with “defeat devices” that limited emissions only during emissions testing (see 1606280047). The defeat devices were not listed on certificates of conformity Volkswagen filed with the EPA, and were illegal for importation (see 1601050032). "At the time of importation, VW falsely represented to CBP that each of the nearly 590,000 imported vehicles complied with all applicable environmental laws, knowing those representations to be untrue," said the DOJ. "CBP’s relationship with the importing community is one based on trust, and this resolution demonstrates that CBP will not tolerate abrogation of importer responsibilities and schemes to defraud the revenue of the United States."