Volkswagen to Allocate $14.7 Bln to Settle Emissions Scandal With US

German car maker Volkswagen has agreed to allocate $14.7 billion to settle the emissions scandal with the United States, which accuses the company of installing software in its diesel-engine vehicles falsifying emission tests, media reported Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Financial Times newspaper, Volkswagen will spend over $10 billion to buy back about 475,000 polluting vehicles in the United States. Each US owner of the Volkswagen rigged car will be offered from $5,100 to $10,000. The car owners will have a choice to sell their cars back or have them fixed.

Another $2.7 billion will be allocated to the US authorities as a compensation for the environmental pollution and $2 billion more will be spent for development of zero emission technology, the media outlet said with reference to its sources.

The agreement is expected to be officially announced on Tuesday in California, according to the publication.

In April, media reported that Volkswagen had reached a preliminary agreement with the US authorities to settle the emissions scandal and offered the US consumers either a monetary compensation or an opportunity to fix faulty cars.

The Volkswagen emission scandal became public when the US Environmental Protection Agency accused the German automaker of using software to falsify emission test results for its diesel-engine cars. In September 2015, Volkswagen admitted that it had installed software in their vehicles to falsify emission tests. Up to 11 million diesel engine Volkswagen vehicles worldwide manufactured over the last six years are estimated to have been programmed to produce false test results for nitrogen oxide emissions.