Welcome to the homepage about the Volkswagen Group Whistleblower System.
Integrity and compliance with statutory and other requirements lay the foundation of a good reputation for Volkswagen and for the trust of our customers and business partners. They also contribute to the wellbeing of Group employees as well as to sustainable economic success, which should not be undermined by the risk of significant financial losses or criminal prosecution.
Making sure these goals are not jeopardized requires the establishment of a corporate culture based on integrity, as well as vigilance by all employees and their willingness to report potential irregularities and violations if reasonable suspicion exists. In the context of achieving these goals, we also value information regarding the violation of laws and internal rules from business partners, customers and other third parties. The ombudspersons system set up in 2006 has been developed further in order to address this even more effectively and to learn the right lessons from past events. Tried-and-tested procedures and methods remain in place. We continue to do everything we can to process reports received quickly and objectively, and to offer whistleblowers a protected space. Like the original system, the reorganized whistleblower system is not designed to generate an atmosphere of mistrust. The aim is to avert damage to the Company. Breaches of regulations harm the Company, and the misconduct of individual employees is at the expense of the entire workforce.
We use the term “whistleblower system” to describe both internal and external contact points for persons wishing to report violations of regulations in connection with the Volkswagen Group together with the committees that support and monitor the work of these contact points. The Investigation Office, which began operating at the beginning of 2017, is the central contact point within the Company.
A list of all internal and external contact points is available from this page.
Where do I send my report?
All contact options along with details and comments on the disclosure of personal data can be found below.
The Investigation Office, which is your internal contact partner, can be accessed as follows:
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E-mail
Please note that personal and traceable data such as the IP address may be transmitted indirectly when sending an e-mail. This data could reveal the identity of the sender. This also applies to e-mail accounts created especially for this purpose.
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Phone
You can contact us by phone (German and English) using the international toll-free number +800 444 46300. Instead of using the plus (+) sign, you can use the international dialing code for your country, e.g. 00 in Germany.If your local telephone provider does not support the toll-free service, you can call the following chargeable number: +49 5361 946300.
Please note that personal and traceable data such as the phone number may be transmitted indirectly when making a phone call. This data could reveal the identity of the caller.
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Postal address
Investigation Office
Box 1717
38436 Wolfsburg
Germany -
In person
Investigation Office
Porschestraße 26-30
38440 Wolfsburg (downtown)
Please make an appointment in advance by calling +800 444 46300.
Two external lawyers act as neutral mediators (ombudspersons) for the Volkswagen Group: they are Dr. Rainer Buchert and Thomas Rohrbach. You can contact these external intermediaries via the following channels:
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E-mail
Dr. Rainer Buchert: dr-buchert@dr-buchert.deThomas Rohrbach: rohrbach@ra-rohrbach.de
Please note that personal and traceable data such as the IP address may be transmitted indirectly when sending an e-mail. This data could reveal the identity of the sender. This also applies to e-mail accounts created especially for this purpose.
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Phone
Dr. Rainer Buchert: +49-69-710 33 330 or +49-6105-92 13 55Thomas Rohrbach: +49-69-65 30 03 56
Please note that personal and traceable data such as the phone number may be transmitted indirectly when making a phone call. This data could reveal the identity of the caller. -
Fax
Dr. Rainer Buchert: +49-69-710 34 444Thomas Rohrbach: +49-69-65 00 95 23
Please note that personal and traceable data such as the phone number may be transmitted indirectly when sending a fax. This data could reveal the identity of the caller.
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Postal address
Dr. Rainer Buchert
Bleidenstraße 1
60311 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
Thomas Rohrbach
Wildgäßchen 4
60599 Frankfurt am Main
Germany -
In person
Dr. Rainer Buchert:
Bleidenstraße 1
60311 Frankfurt am Main
GermanyPlease make an appointment in advance by calling either +49-69-710 33 330 or +49-6105-92 13 55.
Thomas Rohrbach:
Wildgäßchen 4
60599 Frankfurt am Main
GermanyPlease make an appointment in advance by calling +49-69-65 30 03 56.
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Communication platform
You also have the option of using an internet-based communication platform to contact the ombudspersons, exchange documents and conduct a dialog with the ombudspersons via a separate mailbox. This system is confidential and protected. Whistleblowers can decide for themselves whether they wish to give their names. If you would like to send a confidential report to the external ombudspersons, this link takes you to the secure homepage where you can submit a report by clicking the “Submit report” button on the top left of the page.
"Ombudsman" is a term taken from the Swedish word for mediator or legal representative. Dr. Rainer Buchert and Thomas Rohrbach, the external ombudspersons appointed by the Volkswagen Group, act as special counsel to accept reports of potential statutory or internal violation of regulations or any other kind of harmful conduct in the Group, and to review these with respect to plausibility and substantiability. They consult with the whistleblower if necessary and if the identity of the whistleblower is known. Finally, they forward all the information that has been agreed with the whistleblower to the Investigation Office for further processing.
All information is treated as confidential and it is the whistleblower who decides whether he or she wishes to protect his or her identity vis-à-vis the Group. The ombudspersons appointed by the Group ensure that reports from whistleblowers who do not wish to be identified by the Company are forwarded to the Investigation Office anonymously.
How do I make a report?
It is important to make sure the information contained in the report you submit to the Investigation Office is as concrete as possible so that it can be processed and investigated in the appropriate manner.
It is helpful if your report covers the following five questions:
- who?
- what?
- when?
- how?
- where?
Please make sure that the descriptions contained in your report can be easily understood by persons who are not specialists in your field. Maybe you would be available to answer further questions? That would be very helpful. If you would be willing to do so, but wish to remain anonymous and do not wish your identity to be disclosed to the Company, please contact the ombudspersons to make your report.
Responsible for content
The Volkswagen Investigation Office is responsible for the content of this page.
Volkswagen Investigation Office
Box 1717
38436 Wolfsburg
Germany
For better readability, only the masculine form is used on this page. This form is explicitly understood as gender-neutral. It is used for editorial purposes only and is entirely without prejudice.