BERLIN (AP) — Bavaria's finance minister says the state plans to sue Volkswagen over losses to the state pension fund in the wake of the emissions cheating scandal that has taken its toll on the automaker's profits.

State Finance Minister Markus Soeder told the dpa news agency Tuesday that Bavaria "has an obligation" to try and recuperate losses for the pension fund through the suit, which he said would be filed in September.

As of September 2015, when the emissions manipulation scandal became public, Bavaria held some 58,000 preferred shares in Lower-Saxony-based Volkswagen. They've lost some 40 percent of their value, and dpa reports that Bavaria is seeking 700,000 euros ($781,480) in damages.

Volkswagen disclosed last September that it had been fitting diesel vehicles with special software to trick U.S. emissions tests.