Volkswagen could face £30bn class action from shareholders
Volkswagen could be slapped with a £30bn law suit by shareholders following the infamous emissions scandal, it has been revealed.
Litigation finance group Bentham has hired leading legal firm Quinn Emanuel to prepare a class action in Germany for Volkswagen investors for what it describes as the car-manufacturer's "fundamental dishonesty".
Speaking in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Quinn Emanuel's co-managing partner said: "We estimate shareholders' losses could be €40bn as a result of VW's failure to provide relevant disclosure to the market and gives rise to questions about fundamental dishonesty."
"We don't think it will be very hard to find shareholders who have suffered because of it. Institutional investors will be under pressure from their own shareholders to act after the fall in VW shares."
Bethan's chief investment officer Jeremy Marshall added that they required "sufficient investor appetite" in order to proceed with the action.
Quinn Emanuel is reportedly planning to argue that Volkswagen management committed gross negligence by failing to reveal that it used "defeat devices" to pass emissions tests.
It is not expected that 50% stakeholder Porche or German state Lower Saxony, which owns a 20% controlling interest, will pursue legal action.
Other stakeholders include Qatar's state investment fund with 17%, and Axa, Blackrock and Norway's sovereign wealth fund, which all each own 2% or less.