Dieselgate whistleblower: VW engineer called out ‘illegal’ cheating in 2011: report

Dieselgate whistleblower: VW engineer called out 'illegal' cheating in 2011: report

FRANKFURT, Germany — A Volkswagen employee warned in 2011 that the automaker was breaking the law by trying to hide the actual emissions of its diesel vehicles, a German newspaper reported Sunday.

     The engineer’s warning was detailed in a report Friday to Volkswagen’s supervisory board, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

     Volkswagen has already suspended employees it says were involved in the cheating. But it is under growing suspicion of having engaged in a long-term systematic effort to deceive.

     German autoparts supplier Bosch, which provided Volkswagen with the “defeat device” software used to cheat during emissions tests, told the automaker in a 2007 document that it was meant for in-house testing and that using it to game air quality regulations was illegal, another German newspaper reported.

     American authorities broke the Volkswagen cheating scandal this month, but the auto industry and regulators seem to have widely suspected what the German company was up to for some time. The European Union noted the existence of defeat devices back in 2013.

     CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned over the scandal last week but has denied involvement in the cheating.

Dieselgate whistleblower: VW engineer called out 'illegal' cheating in 2011: report