Volkswagen to pay $14.7 billion to settle diesel emissions case in U.S.

NEW YORK, June 27 (UPI) -- Volkswagen will pay $14.7 billion to settle claims in the United States over its diesel car emissions case.

The settlement involves the company's 2-liter diesel engines, and including plans to buy back or pay owners up to $10,000 for their vehicles. The settlement must still be approved by a judge

An expected $10 billion will go to repair or buy back 475,000 cars equipped with the rigged diesel engines, which the company admitted were designed to cheat emissions tests.

Another $4 billion will pay fines and fund clean-emissions technology.

The potential settlement is for the case by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California's Air Resources Board and expected to be filed in court Tuesday.

The deal would only settle a fraction of the 11 million diesel cars with the illegal emissions software. Most of the cars are in Europe.

"It's a remarkable deal for Volkswagen owners who were defrauded by the company [in the United States]," said David M. Uhlmann, a former chief of the Justice Department's Environmental Crimes Section. Uhlmann is now a University of Michigan law professor.