Convicted VW Executive Looking To Serve Time In German Prison

On the back of his recent conviction, Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt may ask to serve his seven-year prison sentence in Germany.

Reuters reports that German weekly Welt am Sonntag broke the news, citing unnamed sources near Schmidt. If such a request is to be made, it would have to be approved by both the U.S. Department of Justice and a German court.

Last week, Schmidt was slapped with a seven year prison sentence and a $400,000 fine after pleading guilty to charges of conspiring to mislead U.S. regulators and violate clean-air laws.

Schmidt served as the head of VW’s environmental and engineering office in Auburn Hills, Michigan until February 2015 and disclosed the company’s use of software that cheated emissions testing during a meeting with a senior official from the California Air Resources Board.

In addition to claims of Schmidt potentially asking to be transferred to Germany, Welt am Sonntag says Schmidt’s lawyer Alexander Saettele is looking into a potential appeal.

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