Emissions: The justice US wants fines "substantial" against Fiat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The u.s. Justice department intends to impose “substantial” fines for civil Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE:FCAU) (FCA), the builder Italian-american is accused of the illegal use of a software of handling of the polluting emissions of diesel engines 104.000 of its cars and SUVS sold in the United States.

A source close to the case has confirmed information originally reported by Bloomberg saying that the Justice department had sent the January 27, a proposal for an amicable settlement to the lawyers of Fiat Chrysler.

Washington requires, in particular, the constructor solves the problem of excessive emissions and take steps to avoid this happening again in the future, adding that an amicable settlement cannot be envisaged, in exchange for “fines civil very substantial”.

The title Fiat Chrysler, which listed in New York has ended on a dip to 7.16% on Friday.

Fiat Chrysler declined to comment.

The investigation conducted by the authorities at the manufacturer had been opened in the scandal of the “dieselgate” which broke out in September 2015 in Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p).

In total, the German manufacturer has agreed to pay up to $ 25 billion to settle all disputes related to the “dieselgate” and redeem its higher-polluting vehicles in the United States.

(David Shepardson, Benoit Van Overstraeten for the French service)