Searches in the offices of managers of Volkswagen

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The prosecutor’s office and the tax administration in Germany were conducted Tuesday, searches in the offices of several executives of Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p), announced the car manufacturer.

These raids are linked to suspicions of excessive compensation of Bernd Osterloh, head of the committee business of the group, said Volkswagen.

Investigators have searched the offices of Bernd Osterloh, but also the chairman of the supervisory board, Hans Dieter Pötsch, chief financial officer, Frank Witter, and the director of human resources, Karlheinz Blessing, said a spokesman for the manufacturer.

It has not been possible in the immediate future to join the enterprise committee or the public prosecutor of the city of Brunswick.

According to a person close to the record, the German authorities suspected practices of tax evasion via that excessive compensation may have been paid to Bernd Osterloh. Excessive remuneration could lead to the recognition of operating expenses overstated and therefore the payment of taxes reduced.

The floor of Brunswick, announced in may that it was investigating suspicions of excessive compensation of Bernd Osterloh. The dilapidation of the funds of a company is regarded in Germany as a criminal offence of a breach of the fiduciary obligations.

(Ilona Wissenbach; Bertrand Boucey for the French service)