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U.S. Said to Ponder What Size Diesel Penalty VW Can Stand

Government said to vet whether criminal fine would bankrupt VW
U.S. could also do ability-to-pay assessment for Deutsche Bank

Video player cover image — How Much Can the U.S. Fine VW Over Emissions Cheating?

By

Tom Schoenberg and

September 27, 2016, 9:00 AM UTCUpdated onSeptember 27, 2016, 2:41 PM UTC

The U.S. Justice Department is assessing how big a criminal fine it can extract from Volkswagen AG over emissions-cheating without putting the German carmaker out of business, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

The government and Volkswagen are trying to reach a settlement by January, the people said, before a new U.S. administration comes into office and replaces the political appointees who have been overseeing the process.