In its filing on Friday, the SEC alleged VW had violated a U.S. federal magistrate’s February 10 order requiring the company to make Duesterdiek available for a deposition.
“Thorsten Duesterdiek is likely the most important witness in this case, and he is a big problem for VW. He had cradle-to-grave involvement in VW’s long-running defeat device fraud,” wrote SEC lawyer Daniel Hayes in Friday’s filing. The SEC said Duesterdiek was a “managing agent” and that from 2012 to 2016 led a diesel engine department at VW.
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VW’s lawyers argued in January that the federal magistrate could not compel the company to produce Duesterdiek for a deposition because he is not currently “an officer, director or managing agent of VW.”
Source: SEC seeks sanctions against VW in emissions cheating case | Reuters