German prosecutors want to get down to the roots of Volkswagen's emissions scandal ... and it seems like they're making progress.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the country's prosecutors have beefed up their investigation in the automaker's emissions cheating scandal, increasing the number of suspects from six to 17. Although none of the suspects' names or titles were revealed, nobody on the list is a current or ex-member of VW's management board.
Klaus Ziehe, a spokesperson for the state attorney's office in the Braunschweig section of Germany, near VW's headquarters, also told the Times that prosecutors haven't ruled out top management being involved in the compromising of 11 million vehicles worldwide.
"We are looking at all levels, including the management board level," Ziehe told the Times.
This follows Monday's news that the French anti-fraud authority deemed the automaker's emissions cheating scandal indeed intentional.
France's findings stand in direct opposition to VW vowing to not have premeditated cheating software in its affected diesel models.
"The management board of Volkswagen had no knowledge either of the programming of the impermissible software nor of its later use in affected diesel motors," the automaker last claimed in a court filing marked Feb. 29, 2016.
While the investigation continues in France and Germany, United States regulators are also conducting a separate inquiry to pinpoint the root of VW's emissions scandal that affected nearly 600,000 vehicles in the country.
That being said, while the recall to fix 8.5 million compromised vehicles in Europe is already underway, VW has yet to reach an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB) over a proposal for how it's going to recall nearly 600,000 vehicles in the States. In January, the EPA and CARB rejected VW's proposed fix.
While these investigations and recalls play out, VW is trying to push toward a healthier future.
"Together, we must make the necessary changes to safeguard the future of Volkswagen," company CEO Matthias Mueller said, as reported by the Times. "Volkswagen is more than just a crisis."
