Car giant Volkswagen has pleaded guilty to three charges in the US in connection with the emissions scandal and will pay a $4.3 billion US dollar penalty.
The penalty, which will be paid to the US government, is the largest against a car maker in American history.
The government also said a grand jury has returned an indictment against six VW executives and employees for their roles in the scheme, which cheated emissions tests and then covered up the scandal.
The deal announced on Wednesday also requires VW to co-operate in an ongoing probe that could lead to the arrest of more employees.
US government documents accuse six VW supervisors of lying to environmental regulators or destroying computer files containing evidence.
VW has admitted programming diesel engines to turn on pollution controls during government tests and then switch them off in real-world driving.