This basically leads to people getting away with lots of sketchy behavior, (in the US) because the corporate veil absolves the decision makers of any personal responsibility.

A stark difference between the EU and the US is that European companies have a harder time claiming their product is safe when it really isn't. For example, lead paint was banned in European countries long before the US.

This thread is about how Volkswagen claimed their cars were safer than they were.

Not safer, cleaner.

I guess it depends on timeframe. The reason we care about the cars being “cleaner” is because it is safer. But not in a someone is going to be maimed way.

which is the stronger deterrent, a (large but recoverable) corporate fine or prison time for the decision makers? I'd wager the latter --- the former mainly punishes shareholders.

The proper response would be to prosecute both the corporation and specific individuals who acted illegally.

The former as a corrective action to help unwind any advantage gained in the market due to the illegal activity. This means, though, that fines need to actually claw back the ill gotten gains, not the small fraction they represent today. Right now, the fines are just another expense, assuming the company even gets caught.

Prosecuting the company properly might also ensure some measure of justice in cases where specific individuals' guilt is obscured by corporate structure and systems (intentionally or otherwise).

Prosecuting individuals who break the law in service of their employer (executive or not) isn't much different than prosecuting soldiers who commit war crimes -- obviously different in degree, but not in kind.

"I was just following orders" shouldn't be an acceptable defense in either case, though coercion and fear of reprisal should certainly be taken into account.

Having a criminal record has other consequences for companies in the US, like being ineligible for most government contracts.

But the managers who caused it are long time gone, they got their pay raises and new jobs. The stocks went up too in the meantime, rewarding those who enabled in the process.

> It's also the reason why VW had to pay a huge fine in the US but not in Germany.

VW had to pay 1 billion euro in germany.

Maybe that's not enough, but it definately is not the case that companies are not persecuted in any way at all in Germany.

OTOH executives can't hide behind the company as an entity.

They seem to be doing it just fine anyways based on this article.

> Winterkorn, 74, was initially meant to stand trial alongside the other four executives but recently underwent an operation, leaving him unable to appear.