"This will be a direct sanction following the obvious assumption that the cars did not comply with the norms and the consumer was deceived in terms of characteristics and properties they did not posses," Martinez said in a statement.
In late September, Volkswagen admitted that it had sold 11 million diesel engine cars worldwide that emitted up to 20 times more greenhouse gas than showed in official emissions tests.
According to previous estimates, the carmaker could face up to $18 billion in fines.
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