Volkswagen AG was sued for €3.3 billion ($3.7 billion) over how the company informed markets about devices used to hide pollution in diesel engines, its biggest legal challenge in Germany to date after a wave of lawsuits in the U.S. on the scandal.
The case was filed Monday in Braunschweig on behalf of 278 institutional investors from around the world, lawyer Andreas Tilp said by telephone. The suit claims VW failed to publish information about the emissions scandal in a timely manner, he said.
The case comes almost six months after Volkswagen admitted it installed software in its diesel vehicles to cheat emissions testing, a scandal that's rippled through the global car industry. Seventy cases are pending in Braunschweig over losses on VW shares, seeking between €600 and €2 million plus the action filed Monday, the court said in a statement. The company also faces a multitude of lawsuits in the U.S. as well as criminal probes in various countries.