STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Sweden's anti-corruption prosecutor announced on Tuesday (Jan 12) the opening of an aggravated fraud investigation against German automaker Volkswagen, which has acknowledged rigging the nitrogen oxide emissions of its vehicles.

The investigation will examine imported diesel models in Sweden between 2009 and 2015, which were equipped with software that minimised emissions during pollution tests, but allowed the vehicles to spew out far more pollutants while on the road.