Larry Thompson

Volkswagen AG (VW) was sentenced in federal court in Detroit on April 21, 2017, after pleading guilty to three felony counts stemming from the company’s scheme to sell diesel vehicles containing software designed to cheat on U.S. emissions tests. VW paid a $2.8 billion penalty and the parties announced that the government had selected NAFUSA life member Larry Thompson as an independent corporate compliance monitor who was to oversee the company during its three-year term of probation.

On Monday, August 27, 2018, Thompson issued a report finding that the company has only just begun to take steps necessary to prevent future scandals.

“The wrongful acts and crimes that were committed in the United States were enormous,” Mr. Thompson said, according to The New York Times. “The cultural change is going to be enormous, and it’s going to require lots of work on the part of the company.” He said, “In my experience, one of the cornerstones of any effective ethics and compliance effort is the organization’s willingness to hold itself and its executives, especially top executives, accountable for wrongdoing.”

Thompson’s review of VW’s compliance continues.