The diesel scandal first emerged in the fall of 2015 when Volkswagen (VW) was found to have manipulated emissions tests, leading to legal costs exceeding 32 billion euros for the company.

The fine in question was related to data protection violations during the handling of the diesel scandal, specifically concerning the sharing of employee data with US overseer Larry Thompson.

Recently, VW avoided a potential fine of 4.3 million euros due to a procedural error by the Hanover public prosecutor's office, which involved a missing signature from a prosecutor.

The Hanover Regional Court ruled in VW's favor at the end of February 2025, but the public prosecutor's office had to retract its appeal due to the aforementioned missing signature.

As a result of the withdrawal of the appeal, VW will not have to pay the fine, and the ruling from the Hanover Regional Court stands without further hearings.

Although the fine is no longer applicable, VW still has the option to appeal the recent ruling regarding data protection complaints to the Higher Administrative Court.

In a related legal challenge, VW achieved a partial victory by overturning two of the five warnings issued by the data protection officer, but the key complaint regarding inadequate information remained upheld.

The opposition CDU party in the Lower Saxony parliament criticized the oversight as a scandal, emphasizing the significant financial implications for the state.

A spokesperson for the prosecution described the situation as a result of unfortunate circumstances and high workload within the office.

The data protection officer had previously criticized VW for not adequately informing employees about data sharing with the US overseer, violating the General Data Protection Regulation.

Due to the procedural error, the appeal had to be withdrawn, leaving the district court's ruling intact without further examination by the Higher Regional Court.

This procedural error has allowed VW to sidestep a significant financial penalty, highlighting ongoing challenges in the aftermath of the diesel scandal.