VW's secret language in emissions cheating scandal bogs down probe

Frankfurt

VOLKSWAGEN AG investigators are struggling to make headway through data secured from more than 1,500 laptops and other devices and probably won't have a complete report on the carmaker's emissions cheating by the end of the month, according to people familiar with the status of the investigation.

The probe, which was expected to wrap up by the end of April, has been slowed by the use of dozens of code words, including "acoustic software", for the illicit technology Volkswagen used to turn off pollution controls when cars were on the road, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the investigation is confidential. The obfuscation along with partly insufficient and outdated computer systems made it difficult to find evidence concrete enough to hold individual employees accountable, they added.