German automotive group Mercedes-Benz will not face criminal charges in the United States in the long-running scandal over emissions of nitrogen oxides, according to information obtained by dpa.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has closed its investigation, according to a letter sent to the company in March and made available to dpa. The story was first reported in the German business newspaper Handlesblatt.
"With the DOJ's decision, we are taking another important step towards legal certainty in connection with various diesel proceedings," said Renata Jungo Brüngger of the board of management for integrity, governance and sustainability.
"We have cooperated fully with the US Department of Justice and made the facts of the case transparent at great expense," she added.
The Stuttgart-based group was accused of deliberately manipulating exhaust emission levels during engine testing, thereby concealing the level of emissions under actual driving conditions.
Excessive values allegedly affected around 250,000 of its diesel cars, prompting extensive internal and external investigations since 2016.
"We have evaluated 1.7 million documents, conducted more than 70 interviews with current and former employees and submitted over 300,000 documents to the US Department of Justice," Brüngger told Handelsblatt.
In September 2020, the car manufacturer avoided a class action lawsuit by reaching a settlement worth billions and thereby ending the proceedings under civil law.