Volkswagen says diesel scandal has cost it $34.69B

(Reuters) — Volkswagen AG said its diesel cheating scandal has cost it 31.3 billion euros ($34.69 billion) in fines and settlements, and the German carmaker expects cash outflows to continue until 2021, adding that these have already been provisioned for.

Volkswagen was caught hiding excessive levels of toxic diesel emissions in 2015, a scandal that led to a management rout and thousands of regulatory probes and lawsuits that are taking years to settle.

"We expect special effects of 2.9 billion euros in 2020 and 1.2 billion euros in 2021," Volkswagen Chief Finance Officer Frank Witter said about potential cash outflows on a webcast of the company's annual results press conference.

A Volkswagen spokesman later clarified that the cash outflows had already been provisioned for.