(Updates information on United States, Germany. Adds Poland)
Feb 1 (Reuters) - Volkswagen has agreed to pay
at least $1.22 billion to fix or buy back nearly 80,000
polluting diesel cars in the United States, the latest move in
its attempt to draw a line under its diesel emissions scandal.
In total, Europe's biggest carmaker has now agreed to spend
up to $25 billion in the United States to address claims from
owners, environmental regulators, U.S. states and dealers, and
offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting vehicles.
But investor lawsuits and investigations by state
prosecutors continue elsewhere.
OTHER CASES IN THE U.S.
In January, Volkswagen (VW) agreed to pay the largest ever
U.S. criminal fine levied on an automaker, following an even
larger civil settlement in October 2016. As part of the criminal
settlement, the German company is set to plead guilty on Feb. 24
in Detroit to three felony counts. Court cases are still pending
in about 20 states, including New York, Massachusetts and
Maryland.
GERMANY
VW faces 8.8 billion euros ($9.5 billion) in damages claims
from investors. A total of about 1,520 lawsuits have been lodged
in the court near VW's Wolfsburg headquarters, including cases
from the German states of Hesse, Baden-Wuertemberg and Bavaria.
Prosecutors are also investigating 37 people, including
former chief executive Martin Winterkorn.
AUSTRALIA
The Australian consumer watchdog said in September it had
sued the Australian arm of VW.
In November 2015, law firm Maurice Blackburn said it would
launch a Federal Court class action on behalf of Australian
owners of VW, Audi and Skoda vehicles seeking total damages
"well north" of A$100 million ($76 million).
BELGIUM
Consumer organisation Test Achats has launched a class
action suit against VW for vehicles sold after Sept. 1, 2014. A
judge will decide whether this suit is admissible. Separately,
the region of Flanders brought a case against VW in November,
which Brussels prosecutors are investigating. The Walloon region
has also appointed a lawyer to bring a case, but formal
proceedings have not yet started.
FRANCE
France has opened an investigation into suspected
"aggravated fraud" by VW. In January, it was passed to the
prosecution team in charge of public health questions.
ITALY
VW was fined 5 million euros by the country's anti-trust
agency in August for allegedly misinforming car buyers about
diesel emissions results. The carmaker plans to challenge the
fine.
An appeals court in Venice has accepted a class action suit
against VW over allegations it understated the fuel consumption
of its Golf model.
NORWAY
Police opened an investigation into VW in September 2015
which remains open. Police will await the outcome of Germany's
investigation before deciding whether to proceed. Separately,
Norway's sovereign wealth fund said in May it would join a
class-action lawsuit over the emissions scandal, and in June it
filed a complaint to the Braunschweig District Court in
Germany.
POLAND
The country's consumer watchdog said in January it had
initiated proceedings against VW for misleading customers over
emissions, a step which could result in a fine of up to 10
percent of VW's local turnover.
SPAIN
The High Court said in July that VW's parent company in
Germany would be liable to answer any charges over emissions
fraud, rather than its Spanish affiliates.
SOUTH KOREA
Prosecutors indicted seven current and former executives and
employees of VW's local unit as well as one contractor for
alleged violation of the Clean Air Conservation Act and other
charges.
SWEDEN
Prosecutors are conducting two parallel preliminary
investigations, one focused on suspected fraud and the other on
suspected environmental crimes. Both probes are ongoing and have
yet to place any individuals under suspicion. In the fraud
probe, the prosecutor at Sweden's National Unit Against
Corruption is awaiting further information pertinent to the case
from Germany.
SWITZERLAND
Prosecutors have opened criminal proceedings and seized
evidence from the AMAG dealership network after an appellate
court ruled Swiss investigators must conduct their own
investigation of VW.
UNITED KINGDOM
Harcus Sinclair UK has said it will pursue a group action at
the High Court seeking thousands of pounds of compensation each
for UK drivers. The first hearing in the group action case was
due to take place on Jan. 30.
($1 = 0.9312 euros)
($1 = 1.3242 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Pawel Goraj and Wout Vergauwen; Editing by
Alexander Smith and Mark Potter)