U.S. judge approves transfer of jailed former VW executive to Germany

A U.S. judge in Detroit on Thursday approved the transfer to Germany of a former Volkswagen AG executive imprisoned in the automaker's diesel emissions scandal.

In 2017, the U.S.-based VW executive Oliver Schmidt, who oversaw emissions issues, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $400,000, the maximum possible under a plea deal the German national made with prosecutors after admitting to charges of conspiring to mislead U.S regulators and violate clean-air laws.

Schmidt, now 51, was not scheduled to be released from a U.S. prison until December 2022. Under the terms of his transfer, Germany will assume responsibility for enforcing the remainder of his sentence.