Diesel emissions scandal: US SEC sues Volkswagen AG, former CEO Winterkorn

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Volkswagen AG and its former chief executive Martin Winterkorn over the German automaker's diesel emissions scandal, accusing the company of perpetrating a "massive fraud" on U.S. investors.

The suit seeks to bar Winterkorn from serving as an officer or director of a public U.S. company and recover "ill-gotten gains". Winterkorn was charged by U.S. prosecutors in 2018 and accused of conspiring to cover up the German automaker's diesel emissions cheating.

Volkswagen said the SEC complaint "is legally and factually flawed, and Volkswagen will contest it vigorously. The SEC has brought an unprecedented complaint over securities sold only to sophisticated investors who were not harmed and received all payments of interest and principal in full and on time."