Germany's financial regulator confirmed Monday it is investigating whether Volkswagen and Daimler failed to notify investors properly following reports that they informed cartel authorities of secret talks with other carmakers that could amount to collusion. BaFin's intervention follows confirmation from the European Commission that it has launched its own investigation into whether the discussions between German manufacturers were legal. According to German media reports, VW and its subsidiaries Audi and Porsche colluded with Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler and BMW, agreeing technical, purchasing and marketing details and even levels of polluting emissions. Neither VW nor Daimler have confirmed reports that they informed the competition authorities of the secret talks allegedly held since the 1990s. Recent changes to German law mean BaFin can inflict beefed-up penalties on companies found to be infringing the rules on ad hoc notifications to investors.

Source: The Local August 07, 2017 14:03 UTC