--German prosecutors have raided the offices of Volkswagen and Continental to find evidence in relation to the dieselgate scandal in 2015

--The investigation focuses on Continental, which provided the engine control units that Volkwagen used to sidestep emissions tests

--Continental said it was cooperating fully with authorities

 
  By William Boston and Jessica Sier

German prosecutors raided offices of Volkswagen AG and one of its main suppliers, Continental AG, to gather evidence in a continuing investigation into allegations of fraud in connection with the 2015 dieselgate scandal, state attorneys in the city of Hannover office said Wednesday.

According to the prosecutor, 76 police officers, four state attorneys and one bookkeeper searched offices of Continental and Volkswagen and carted away documents, personal notebooks, and electronic files contained on hard drives, thumb drives and other data storage devices.

The investigation focuses on Continental, which provided the engine control unit for 1.6 liter EA189 diesel engines that Volkswagen had outfitted to sidestep diesel emissions tests.

The German auto-parts supplier said the authorities visited its Hannover, Frankfurt and Regensburg locations as part of the investigation, which is separate from the main investigation being conducted by prosecutors in Braunschweig, close to Volkswagen's headquarters.

A spokesman for the prosecutor said the focus of the Hannover investigation is a group of Continental employees including seven engineers and two project managers who are suspected of aiding and abetting Volkswagen to commit fraud. No charges have been filed against the employees.

Additionally, two managing directors and a compliance officer are suspected of negligence in their oversight responsibilities, a misdemeanor. No charges have been filed against them either.

Continental said it was cooperating fully with authorities. The company repeated that it never provided software aimed at thwarting emissions testing to any customer.

Volkswagen also confirmed the searches took place.

Write to William Boston at william.boston@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 01, 2020 12:43 ET (16:43 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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