VW Bites Back: Doubts Diesel Whistleblower, Says Defeat Software Legal In Europe

Another week brings more new stories on the diesel-emission cheating scandal that threatens to dig Volkswagen deeper into a ditch of its own making.

Following reports in German newspapers late last week suggesting that the "defeat device" software was an "open secret" in VW's engine group, the company bit back yesterday.

VW Group CEO Matthias Müller told reporters at a reception that the sources for the Sueddeutsche Zeitung report "have no idea about the whole matter."

DON'T MISS: VW Diesel Cheating An 'Open Secret' In Engine Group: Report

Müller's statement, as reported by Reuters, "casts doubt" on the newspaper's report, which it said came from statements by a whistleblower cited in the company's internal probe of the scandal.

The CEO also suggested that the company would not release results of that probe, conducted by U.S. law firm Jones Day, any time before its annual shareholder meeting on April 21.

"Is it really so difficult to accept that we are obliged by stock market law to submit a report to the AGM on April 21," asked Müller, "and that it is not possible for us to say anything beforehand?"

VW Group's powerful Board of Directors will hold their third meeting in three weeks on the affair this coming Wednesday.

Despite PR fallout, VW Group's German communications unit continues to allege that while the "defeat device" software in its TDI diesels violated U.S. laws, it was entirely legal in Europe.

The majority of the 11 million affected vehicles were sold in European countries, helped by policies instituted by some national governments that gave financial advantages to diesel vehicles and their fuel.