WASHINGTON: Volkswagen AG will plead guilty to three criminal charges and pay a total $4.3 billion in fines to settle the emissions cheating scandal known as “dieselgate,” US officials announced on Wednesday.
The US Justice Department said VW is charged with conspiracy to defraud the US and violate the Clean Air Act with defeat devices on its diesel vehicles that evaded emissions standards.
The company will pay $2.8 billion in criminal fines, and $1.5 billion in civil fines.
That is in addition to $17.5 billion already agreed in settlements with car owners, dealers and for environmental cleanup.
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy on Wednesday unveiled the settlement with Volkswagen.
The settlement does not impact the government’s ongoing investigation into individual misconduct by current and former VW employees. Volkswagen had previously agreed to spend up to $17.5 billion in the United States to resolve claims by US regulators, owners and dealers and offered to buy back nearly 500,000 polluting vehicles. The automaker was in intensive talks with regulators in recent weeks in an effort to reach a deal before the end of the Obama administration.
Without a deal by next week, a final resolution could have been delayed by months until the Trump EPA and Justice Department teams are in place.
VW admitted in September 2015 to installing secret software in hundreds of thousands of US diesel cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests and make them appear cleaner than they were on the road, and that as many as 11 million vehicles could have similar software installed worldwide.
On Monday, a VW executive, the second VW employee charged by US prosecutors, was accused of conspiracy to defraud the US over the company’s emissions cheating and the automaker was charged with concealing the cheating from regulators. Much of the company’s senior management departed following the scandal, including chief executive Martin Winterkorn.
VW pleads guilty, to pay $4.3bn in ‘dieselgate’
VW pleads guilty, to pay $4.3bn in ‘dieselgate’
Closing Bell: Saudi equity markets end year in green at 10,491
RIYADH: Saudi equities ended Wednesday’s session higher, with the Tadawul All Share Index rising 109.18 points, or 1.05 percent, to close at 10,490.69, supported by broad-based buying across the main market.
Gains were mirrored in the blue-chip MT30 index, which added 9.31 points, or 0.68 percent, to finish at 1,387.31. The Nomu Parallel Market also advanced, climbing 255.5 points, or 1.11 percent, to close at 23,296.29.
Market breadth was firmly positive, with 249 gainers versus just 12 losers on the main market, with SR3.2 billion ($854.2 million) in trade value.
Among the top gainers, United Cooperative Assurance Co. surged 9.73 percent to close at SR3.72, while Saudi Industrial Export Co. rose 9.18 percent to SR2.26.
Al Gassim Investment Holding Co. advanced 8.25 percent to SR16.40, and Abdullah Saad Mohammed Abo Moati for Bookstores Co. gained 7.73 percent to end at SR46.
Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Co. also posted strong gains, closing up 7.67 percent at SR3.93.
On the downside, Naseej International Trading Co. led the declines, falling 5.87 percent to SR35.30.
SEDCO Capital REIT Fund edged down 1.03 percent to SR6.70, while Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Co. slipped 0.78 percent to SR140.30.
Banque Saudi Fransi declined 0.77 percent to SR16.82, and Saudi Co. for Hardware closed 0.76 percent lower at SR25.96.
On the corporate front, Catrion Catering Holding Co. said it signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire a 55 percent stake in Al Khaleejah Catering Co., with an option to buy an additional 15 percent within three years.
The transaction values the acquisition at up to SR 40.86 million, comprising an initial cash payment of SR315.21 million and performance-based earn-out payments of up to SR125.65 million, subject to the achievement of specified financial targets.
The acquisition will be financed through internal funding sources and Shariah-compliant banking facilities and is expected to support Catrion’s expansion strategy in the aviation and catering services sector, with a positive financial impact anticipated by the end of the second quarter of 2026.
Catrion Catering Holding Co. closed Wednesday’s session at SR80.35, up SR3.35, representing a 4.35 percent gain
Purity for Information Technology Co. announced the signing of a contract with the Social Development Bank to provide managed cloud system services.
The contract is valued at SR6.92 million, including VAT, and will run for a duration of 36 months.
Under the agreement, Purity will deliver managed cloud services aimed at enhancing system reliability, service availability, and overall operational continuity.
The financial impact of the contract is expected to be reflected in the company’s financial results for the 2025–2026 fiscal year.
Purity for Information Technology Co. ended the session at SR20.99, rising SR0.54, or 2.64 percent.
