Braunschweig, Germany (dpa) – The number of Volkswagen investors suing the carmaker for damages in relation to its emissions scandal has risen to 114, the German court responsible for such claims said on Wednesday.
The court in the central German city of Wolfsburg said that all 114 cases are based on allegations that Europe’s largest carmaker withheld information from shareholders about the scandal and the impending fines and penalties.
Earlier this year, Volkswagen admitted that senior executives at the company had been aware of the so-called defeat devices installed in cars to circumvent emissions tests nearly 18 months before admitting their existence to regulators.
The court’s announcement comes several days after Norway’s sovereign wealth fund – one of the world’s largest – said it is planning legal action against the carmaker «to safeguard the fund’s holding in Volkswagen.»
Norges Bank Investment Management was the latest entity to join a flood of legal actions over the scandal. Aside from investors and car owners, plaintiffs also include its own dealers, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
The Wolfsburg court also announced on Wednesday that 46 individual car owners had filed complaints over the scandal.
Volkswagen has put aside over 16 billion euros (18 billion dollars) to pay for the fallout from the emissions scandal.
