VW’s German Execs Gird to Face Questions From U.S. Authorities

Dozens of Volkswagen AG officials in Germany have hired U.S. criminal defense lawyers as the Justice Department ramps up meetings with managers to gather evidence that may lead to charges against executives, people familiar with the matter said.

U.S. authorities have traveled to Germany to arrange interviews with managers and seek cooperation in their probe of the automaker’s efforts to subvert anti-pollution rules, the people said. With some interviews yet to take place, it makes it less likely, they said, that prosecutors will be able to reach a resolution with the company by the close of the Obama administration as some officials had hoped.

That activity, and the Justice Department’s efforts to interview executives on foreign soil, shows the U.S. is keeping pressure on the automaker after it admitted last year that it had rigged its diesel engines to lower their emissions during testing. read more »