BusinessWeek reports that VW board member Ferdinand Piëch is in the crosshairs in the German automaker's sex and bribery scandal. You may recall that VW took a bit of heat when investigators discovered that management had slipped $2.9m in secret payments to VW labor boss and supervisory board member Klaus Volkert. Oh, and $518k to Volkert's Brazilian former lover Adriana Barros. Two years after the initial revelations, Volkert's trial is finally underway, and the union boss is singing like a Kanarienvogel. Volkert's lawyer has produced a smoking gun: a letter signed by Piëch authorizing the illegal payments. The development jibes with claims made by Klaus-Joachim Gebauer, the personnel manager on trial for his part in the crime. Gebauer has already testified that VW's executive board knew about the slush funds, since they triggered monthly reports on budget overruns (filed as "executive board miscellaneous"). Since the scandal first broke, Piëch has denied any knowledge of the pay-offs. It's unlikely VW's largest stockholder will face perjury charges, but not impossible. [thanks to starlightmica for the link]
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Hey look, it’s the genius that killed the 1998 Passat TDI for North America! And the guy that thought the Phaeton was going to sell! And now he’s implicated in a sex scandal. He seems like a winner to me. Why do so many executives get involved in creepy sex scandals? I guess they must get bored after doing nothing but counting their money all day, so getting some strange is the answer for them.
Mr BrettC,
Lest we forget, Dr Piech is also the man who developed the Audi Quattro system and authorised and helped engineer the Bugatti Veyron!
I’m slightly staggered that such a sex scandal would have happened in Germany. They’re such a functional and logical bunch. I’d have expected such a scandal to happen in the United States or the UK.
God forbid it should ever happen in Japan! It’d involve tentacled demons and young school girls!*
I can’t see this scandal doing much to bring down VW. It’ll all blow over in a couple of months. Sex scandals are only ever detrimental when people are in a position of trust (i.e politicians, teachers, etc). Now, if the scandal involved covering up defects, that would be a different issue.
* = For the record, I love Japanese anime, but even I have my limits!
That picture really isn’t helping his case.
No pics of Ms Barros?
Just to check out the evidence.
Hippo:
VW-Affäre: “Ich bin keine Prostituierte”
KatiePuckrik: I’m slightly staggered that such a sex scandal would have happened in Germany. They’re such a functional and logical bunch. I’d have expected such a scandal to happen in the United States or the UK.
I think we all knew Volkswagen was on a slippery slope when they started running those “Un-pimp my Ride” commercials featuring the lovely, but kinky, “Helga,” the dominatrix.
Here’s a link to a “You Tube” video featureing her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78oZRU7xZho
And there are more Helga videos under “Related Videos.”
Apparently Volkswagen was practicing truth in advertising.
starlightmica,
Looks like she punched way above her weight.
Hippo:
At risk of turning this into a FARK.com comments thread: “more cushin’ for the pushin’!”
Yes, I should have said that she looks like she has a great personality.
KatiePuckrik, as awesome as the Veyron is, it really was a waste of money to develop. More like a childhood dream than a sound business decision, as they lose money on every one they build. I mean, c’mon.
Also, the Phaeton? I knew that thing was a sales loser the moment I first read about it/saw it. Why buy one when for the same money you could have had a better-looking, lighter (ergo quicker/faster), more luxurious A8?
I think Piech is developing grumpy-old-man syndrome, where he’s gonna do what he wants to do, dammit. It came back to bite him on the arse.
And yes, that photo is very Mr. Burns-esque.