SEC Charges Volkswagen, Former CEO With Defrauding Bond Investors During "Clean Diesel" Emissions Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Volkswagen AG, two of its subsidiaries, and its former CEO, Martin Winterkorn, for defrauding U.S. investors, raising billions of dollars through the corporate bond and fixed income markets while making a series of deceptive claims about the environmental impact of the company's "clean diesel" fleet. According to the SEC's complaint, from April 2014 to May 2015, Volkswagen issued more than $13 billion in bonds and asset-backed securities in the U.S. markets at a time when senior executives knew that more than 500,000 vehicles in the United States grossly exceeded legal vehicle emissions limits, exposing the company to massive financial and reputational harm.