A German court has sentenced two former Volkswagen executives to prison and handed suspended sentences to two others for their roles in the company’s diesel emissions scandal.
The point is that the US has gathered enough evidence to get indictments against them. Germany has access to that same evidence and has very similar laws that were violated – but has done basically nothing.
I understand the point, and for the record I also believe those responsible should be held accountable personally. The difficult thing is simply the international character of the crimes committed. If these things are illegal in Germany, perhaps they should be tried under German law and courts.
But I also recognise that’s probably not going to happen due to the people accused having too much (political/soft) power. It’s a real dilemma when we’re talking about white collar crime.
Say for example, I do something right now in my home country, which is illegal for me to do in, say Madagascar, but is legal where I live. The thing I’m doing, I’m doing from my office in my home country. The effect is in Madagascar - is it then reasonable for Madagascar to ask my home country for extradition?
It’s absolutely not the same as what’s happened, but I’m taking it to an extreme to make a point. International laws are really difficult, especially when extradition of nationals is at play… not to invalidate the fact that these people did something very wrong by the way!
The point is that the US has gathered enough evidence to get indictments against them. Germany has access to that same evidence and has very similar laws that were violated – but has done basically nothing.
I understand the point, and for the record I also believe those responsible should be held accountable personally. The difficult thing is simply the international character of the crimes committed. If these things are illegal in Germany, perhaps they should be tried under German law and courts.
But I also recognise that’s probably not going to happen due to the people accused having too much (political/soft) power. It’s a real dilemma when we’re talking about white collar crime.
Say for example, I do something right now in my home country, which is illegal for me to do in, say Madagascar, but is legal where I live. The thing I’m doing, I’m doing from my office in my home country. The effect is in Madagascar - is it then reasonable for Madagascar to ask my home country for extradition?
It’s absolutely not the same as what’s happened, but I’m taking it to an extreme to make a point. International laws are really difficult, especially when extradition of nationals is at play… not to invalidate the fact that these people did something very wrong by the way!