Oliver Schmidt, who headed the company’s regulatory compliance office in the US from 2014 to March 2015, was arrested on Saturday by federal investigators in Florida, according to a report in the New York Times.

Volkswagen declined to comment on the reported arrest.

“Volkswagen continues to cooperate with the Department of Justice as we work to resolve remaining matters in the United States. It would not be appropriate to comment on any ongoing investigations or to discuss personnel matters,” it said.

The news comes as Volkswagen was nearing a deal to resolve criminal and civil allegations over its diesel cheating, crucial steps toward moving past the scandal, which has cost it billions of euros and badly damaged its reputation.

British legal action

At the same time a British law firm said it has launched legal action against Volkswagen, seeking thousands of pounds of compensation each for UK drivers affected by the scandal.

Ex-Volkswagen executive arrested in criminal investigation of emissions cheating scandal. https://t.co/RwEgt4fsc3 pic.twitter.com/l7PWI5rYWZ

— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) 9 gennaio 2017

In Britain, Europe’s second-biggest autos market, 1.2 million cars are affected and Harcus Sinclair UK, which is being supported by Slater and Gordon, said around 10,000 drivers had already signed up to the legal action before Monday’s launch.

The firm will pursue a group action, the nearest British equivalent of a U.S. class action, at the High Court and is asking other drivers affected to come forward and join the case.

“We will argue that you received a vehicle that should never have been licensed for sale because it did not meet the required emissions standards,” the firm said on its website.

“We believe that the Court will assess the difference between what you paid for your vehicle and the inherent value of what you actually received.”

‘Robust defence’

A spokesman for Volkswagen said the company would “robustly” defend itself in the case and reiterated it did not believe customers would lose out due to the scandal.

“We expect no decline in the residual values of the affected vehicles as a result of this issue,” he said.

Last year, a Spanish court ruled in favour of a buyer of a Volkswagen car with altered emissions software, ordering two of the German firm’s local units to pay a 5,000 euro (4,330 pound) fine to the car’s owner.

But the British authorities have been accused by some consumers and lawmakers of being too slow to act for not pursuing compensation or criminal proceedings.

In December, the European Union began legal action against Britain, Germany and five other member states for failing to police emissions test cheating by carmakers.

The first hearing in the group action case is due to take place on Jan. 30, a spokeswoman for Harcus Sinclair UK said. (Euronews)