Prosecutors drop case in VW scandal

FRANKFURT, Germany — German prosecutors have set aside a securities-law case against the former CEO of Volkswagen because he could face heavier penalties in a separate criminal fraud case connected to the company’s 2015 diesel emissions scandal.

The court in the city of Braunschweig said in a statement Friday that the securities case had been halted at the request of prosecutors. They did so under a legal provision that lets them put cases aside if another, more serious charge has been brought so that a conviction on the lesser change would not add substantially to the sentence.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a notice of violation against Volkswagen in September 2015, saying the company had used illegal engine software to have vehicles pass emissions tests and then emit many times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide during everyday driving. Nitrogen oxide is a pollutant that harms human health.