Volkswagen's investors are nervous about reports regarding the possible amount of the fine the U.S. Department of Justice may levy.

Volkswagen AG investors are nervous about the pending fine the U.S. Department of Justice is soon to levy on the German automaker over the diesel scandal.

Reports suggest that officials are trying to figure out how large a fine they can slap on the company without sending it into bankruptcy. This speculation by investors has caused the maker’s stock price to dip. The automaker’s already incurred $14.7 billion in civil fines from the agency.

Currently, the company has $32 billion in net liquidity, as well its existing revenue and profits it could use to pay in future. Also it has access to lines of credit with several banks.

Since the fines are typically paid back over a number of years – the company isn’t required to cut a check immediately – so as long as VW remains profitable, getting the money shouldn’t be a difficult prospect: as long as the company is still viable.

That said, the company’s stock took a 4.6% hit as nervous investors began wondering about what kind of fiscal punishment will be meted out with respect to the criminal investigation.

(VW facing $9 billion in investor claims over diesel scandal. For more, Click Here.)

In addition to the fines for the 11 million diesel vehicles globally it rigged with software to cheat emissions regulations, it also agreed to buy back or fix vehicles in a sweeping compensation plan that must still be approved by a federal judge.

“Volkswagen continues to cooperate with the Department of Justice as we work to resolve remaining matters in the United States,” Volkswagen said Tuesday in a statement.

And, by the way, that’s just the penalties in the U.S. VW is being smacked with more than $9 billion in investor lawsuits in Germany.

(After pleading guilty, VW engineer helping with diesel investigation. Click Here for the story.)

A flood of lawsuits have landed on the doorstep of the regional court in Braunschweig, Germany as a one-year deadline for filing claims approaches. It was on Sept. 18, 2015 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accused the automaker of rigging 475,000 vehicles equipped with a 2.0-liter turbodiesel to pass American emissions tests.

In the various lawsuits, investors generally claim that VW hid from them critical information about the diesel cheating, especially the potential cost of the scam, that might have impacted investment decisions.

(In wake of diesel scandal, VW reorients its U.S. operations. To find out more, Click Here.)

While the civil penalties in its homeland and other European countries have been negligible, it’s also under criminal investigation in Germany, which is likely to result in big financial penalties as well.