Volkswagen shareholders have approved plans to settle claims against four former executives that will see the automaker receive €288 million ($339 million) in compensation.
The settlement required shareholder approval and during the company’s annual general meeting, 99.9 per cent of investors agreed to the proposal. It will help VW recoup a small fraction of the money it lost as a result of the dieselgate scandal.
The settlement will see former chief executive Martin Winterkorn pay €11.2 million ($13.18 million), while Audi’s former chief executive Rupert Stadler is on the hook for €4.1 million ($4.82 million). In addition, former Audi board member Stefan Knirsch and ex-Porsche board member Wolfgang Hatz will each need to cough up €1 million ($1.18 million) and €1.5 million ($1.77 million) respectively.
Read More: VW To Receive $351 Million In Dieselgate Settlement With Former Execs
The remaining €270 million ($317 million) comes from the car manufacturer’s liability insurance policy, Reuters reports.
“The Supervisory Board has concluded that Prof. Winterkorn breached his duties of care as former Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG by failing, in the period from 27 July 2015 on, to comprehensively and promptly clarify the circumstances behind the use of unlawful software functions in 2.0L TDI diesel engines sold in the North American market between 2009 and 2015,” VW said in a statement earlier this year.
Last month, Winterkorn was charged with giving the German Parliament false testimony after claiming he was unaware of the company rigging diesel engine tests until the scandal became public. VW executives initially blamed rogue engineers for cheating emissions tests, but an internal investigation run by VW itself concluded that the execs had indeed breached their duties and were aware of the cheating.
