The Volkswagen scandal has taken a new twist, as a file on the case mysteriously disappeared from the state chancellery of Lower Saxony, where the company has its headquarters.
Lower Saxony prosecutors said on Wednesday that they had filed a criminal complaint against “unknown persons” after discovering the file was missing. According to a spokesperson, the file contained internal government memos on the emissions scandal. It was last seen on Friday, 9 October. Staff realised the file was missing the following Monday.
The file did not include secret information, the spokesperson said. “The loss is annoying, but it is not highly problematic.” Lower Saxony owns 20% of VW’s shares and the state’s governor sits on the company’s supervisory board.
Volkswagen admitted in September that it has been cheating in diesel emissions tests by using a software defeat device that made cars appear less polluting under lab conditions than they were on the road.
The carmaker said on Wednesday it had stopped the sale, in Europe, of new cars that contained the cheating software. The move affects a limited number of diesel cars with Euro 5 engines held at dealerships. They will be upgraded and put up for sale again.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian shipowner IM Skaugen has disclosed it is seeking $50m (£32.3m) in compensation from MAN, a VW subsidiary that makes utility cars and marine engines, because fuel use in engines it bought from the German company was higher than specified.
MAN admitted in 2011 that some of its marine diesel engines showed an artificially low fuel use. The company offered compensation to customers, but did not settle an agreement with IM Skaugen.
