Luxembourg launches criminal proceedings against VW over emissions scandal

Embattled automaker Volkswagen is the subject of criminal proceedings launched in Luxembourg, more than a year after its diesel emission scandal broke, a report says.

Luxembourg said Monday it was taking legal action over the EA 189 engine manufactured by VW's Audi division.

This step followed an investigation and was targeted against "unknown persons," said Reuters in a report.

The EA 189 was tested and certified by Luxembourg authorities.

It was used in most of the cars that VW has admitted in the US included illegal "defeat device" software, Reuters reported.

This software was able to hide the true level of toxic emissions in tests.

Investigations were still attempting to identify all the individuals involved in the emissions scandal, the news agency reported.

Luxembourg was among seven EU countries being scrutinised by the European Commission, which believed some of the bloc's member states had not done sufficient to crack down on emissions test cheating.