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 accusation of false certification and breach of trust also raised by the public prosecutor's office.
They would have known that they were manipulating
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 Braunschweig Regional Court admitted charges against seven additional VW Group employees, following the diesel emissions scandal.
- The public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig initially charged eight individuals in relation to the manipulated diesel engines in 2020.
- Four Volkswagen managers have already faced trial at the regional court since September 2021, with proceedings against former CEO Martin Winterkorn being severed due to his health.
- The defendants in Braunschweig are accused of serious fraud and violating Germany's law against unlawful competition.
- The public prosecutor's office had assumed that the defendants promoted or supported the installation of manipulation software in VW diesel cars between 2006 and 2015, despite knowing it was illegal.
- The scandal emerged in September 2015, with the company discovered to be falsifying emissions using hidden software codes instead of more expensive technology.
- The diesel emissions scandal plunged Volkswagen into its worst crisis since its inception.
- This case is being heard at the Economics Criminal Chamber in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany.
Source: www.stern.de
