Volkswagen Avoids EUR4.3 Million Fine Due to Administrative Error

Volkswagen AG has successfully evaded a potential fine of EUR4.3 million due to a procedural error within the Hanover public prosecutor's office. The fine was initially sought by the state data protection authority for alleged breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) related to the company's handling of sensitive information during the aftermath of the Dieselgate scandal.

The controversy stems from accusations that Volkswagen improperly shared employee data with Larry Thompson, the U.S. monitor appointed to oversee the company's compliance efforts following the emissions cheating scandal. The state data protection authority claimed that employees were not adequately informed about this data sharing.

In a legal dispute over the fine, Volkswagen initially triumphed when the Hanover District Court ruled in favor of the automaker at the end of February. Following this, the public prosecutor's office filed an appeal with the Celle Higher Regional Court. However, this appeal was rendered void when it was discovered that the necessary signature from the responsible prosecutor was missing from the legal documents, a mistake acknowledged by a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office.

The absence of this signature has significant implications: Volkswagen is now exempt from the proposed fine, and the ruling from the District Court stands as final. This situation leaves the content of the prosecutor's appeal unexamined, as there will be no further proceedings on the matter. The spokesperson characterized the incident as an isolated case resulting from a 'chain of unfortunate circumstances' and cited the current high workload of the office, which is currently without leadership.

The opposition party, specifically the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) faction in the Lower Saxony state parliament, expressed outrage over the situation, labeling it a 'scandal.' They plan to address the issue in the legal affairs committee, emphasizing that this is not merely a trivial oversight but a serious error that could inflict substantial financial damage on the state of Lower Saxony.

In parallel to this legal situation, Volkswagen had filed its own lawsuit regarding the data protection complaints. However, this was addressed by an administrative court rather than the District Court. Recently, Volkswagen achieved a partial victory in that court, where two out of five warnings issued by the data protection authority in 2023 were annulled. Nevertheless, the critical warning linked to data privacy deficiencies that triggered the fine remains intact. This ruling is not yet final, as Volkswagen has the opportunity to appeal to the Administrative Court, but it will not affect the now-terminated fine proceedings.