A federal judge in San Francisco has approved Volkswagen's $14.7 billion settlement over the carmaker's vehicle emissions scandal. The process of compensating affected U.S. car owners is beginning now, with the first buybacks expected to happen within the next few weeks.
Under the terms of the deal, Volkswagen agrees to either buy back or repair vehicles involved in the scandal. That means paying as much as $10.033 billion to owners. In addition, the carmaker has come to an agreement with the United States under which it will pay nearly $5 billion in environmental remediation.
The tentative deal was announced in June. On Tuesday, it was approved by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who found it was "fair, adequate, and reasonable."
It's the largest civil settlement in automaker history, and the largest false advertising case the Federal Trade Commission has ever seen.
Under the terms of the agreement, the court notes, funds to compensate owners have to be made available within 10 days of this final approval, and the buyback program must begin immediately.