Braunschweig Regional Court - Diesel scandal: More VW employees have to go to court
In the emissions scandal surrounding manipulated diesel engines at Volkswagen, further defendants must stand trial. The Braunschweig Regional Court admitted the charges against seven further Group employees, as the court announced on Friday. The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office had already brought charges against eight people in 2020.
The application has now been admitted by the Economic Criminal Chamber with amendments and the main proceedings have been opened. The court did not name the defendants. A date for the start of the trial has also not yet been set.
Four Volkswagen managers have already been on trial before the regional court since September 2021. The proceedings against former Group CEO Martin Winterkorn, who had to resign after the diesel scandal came to light in 2015, had been severed with reference to his state of health. It is still unclear whether and when he will be tried. Ex-Audi boss Rupert Stadler was already given a suspended sentence in Munich in June.
The new defendants in Braunschweig are accused of fraud in a particularly serious case and a violation of the law against unlawful competition. Some of the defendants have also been charged with possible tax evasion. However, the court did not see sufficient suspicion for the charges of false certification and breach of trust also brought by the public prosecutor's office.
In its application, the public prosecutor's office had assumed that the defendants "in their respective positions of responsibility" had "promoted, supported or at least not prevented" the installation of the manipulation software in VW diesel cars between November 2006 and September 2015, despite knowing that it was illegal.
The fall of 2006, when the targeted deceptions are said to have begun, was a time when VW wanted to catch up with its competitors in the difficult US market. A major marketing offensive on "clean diesel" was intended to win over more customers.
In September 2015, it came to light that the company was falsifying the measured values using hidden software codes instead of using more expensive emissions technology. This ensured that the emissions were fully cleaned in tests, but were many times higher in road use. The discovery of the scandal plunged VW into the worst crisis in its history.
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- The charges against these new defendants in the emissions scandal at Volkswagen relate to fraud in a particularly serious case and a violation of the law against unlawful competition.
- The public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig accused the defendants of promoting, supporting, or not preventing the installation of manipulation software in Volkswagen diesel cars between November 2006 and September 2015.
- The Braunschweig Regional Court admitted the charges against seven additional Volkswagen Group employees, following a case initially brought by the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office in 2020.
- After the diesel scandal came to light in 2015, former Group CEO Martin Winterkorn had to resign, but his trial processes have yet to commence due to health reasons.
- Ex-Audi boss Rupert Stadler was initially given a suspended sentence for his involvement in the scandal, while four Volkswagen managers have already been tried by the Braunschweig Regional Court since September 2021.
- In its application, the public prosecutor's office stated that the defendants, in their respective positions of responsibility, knew that the manipulation software was illegal and did not object to its installation in VW diesel cars.
- The diesel scandal, which involved manipulated diesel engines, has had significant repercussions in Germany, particularly in Lower Saxony, where Volkswagen is headquartered.
Source: www.stern.de
