New probe into Volkswagen manager over illegal bonuses - report

Following the indictment of former Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn, the prosecutor's office in the northern German city of Braunschweig has initiated a new preliminary investigation into a VW manager, German media reported on Sunday.

The new investigation on suspicion of breach of trust has been initiated, the Sunday edition of the Bild newspaper reported.

The manager was one of the four executives who were charged in mid-April along with ex-chief Winterkorn.

A VW spokesman confirmed to dpa that Volkswagen knows about the investigation, but refused to comment further in light of the ongoing proceedings.

The public prosecutor's office was initially unavailable for comment on Sunday.

According to Bild, the investigation is about illegal bonus payments that the manager is thought to have received after the announcement of the diesel scandal.

He was released at that time, but signed a new contract with VW and continue to receive a monthly allowance.

In addition, he received bonuses worth 866,000 euros (974,000 dollars) between 2016 and 2018, according to Bild.

Such bonuses could not be justified under the new contract in the view of the investigators, the newspaper wrote.