A statement of monumental proportions…
Bright red flags are being waved in America after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged that VW employees may have erased or ‘lost’ 23 mobile phones of ‘key employees.’
I don’t want to jump the gun here, but that’s very suspicious behaviour; especially with the criminal probe in full swing.
You could say that it’s very convenient timing as well…
Missing mobile phones
A court filing dated early December detailed how more than a dozen mobile phones were ‘lost or broken’, meaning the FTC were unable to get access to the phones. The filing didn’t mention who the ‘important individuals’ were, but it may well include the top management board of the VW Group.
VW’s denial
Unsurprisingly, the U.S. VW Group has maintained adamantly that they weren’t “aware of any evidence that any of those mobile devices was intentionally wiped or lost”.
I guess we will have to take their word for it…
The FTC’s assertion that these mobile phones were intentionally erased does make sense though. If the devices had incriminating evidence on them, this could land VW in bigger trouble. So, if the evidence isn’t there…
FTC’s investigation
Court documents detailed that the FTC has been investigating (since March) whether the German automakers destroyed any crucial documents in relation to the “Dieselgate” scandal. It doesn’t get more suspicious by the fact that a witness (Mr Manuel Sanchez) sent by VW was unprepared to testify about the missing mobile phones. This could indicate that they’ve yet to ‘get their stories straight’ and wouldn’t want a witness to make a testimony that could make VW look guilty.
VW has declined to respond to the allegations made by the FTC. so far
Why there could be truths in the FTC’s allegation
Based on the whole existence of the emissions scandal in the first place, it can be understandable to see why anyone would question the integrity of the German automotive giants. They already acknowledge that there has been a breach of customer trust.
Earlier this year, a former VW engineer, Mr Daniel Donovan, was prosecuted for his contribution in manipulating the emissions software. It’d be hard to believe that other VW employees or executives weren’t aware of the cheating, and that they didn’t assist in trying to get rid of the data.
But, as always, we can but speculate!
Swiss prosecutors seize evidence
There are no signs of the scandal slowing down as Swiss prosecutors have opened criminal proceedings and seized evidence from a VW dealership, AMAG, in Switzerland. To date, AMAG has cooperated with the law enforcement authorities.
If VW is trying to destroy or hide evidence, that’ll just lengthen the investigation, and probably worsen the repercussions. It’s important that they remain honest and transparent, but the big question is this: will they?
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