- Ex-VW CEO Winterkorn’s “dieselgate” trial begins after delays
- Winterkorn faces fraud and market manipulation charges
- Volkswagen paid over €30 billion in fines and compensation
Following repeated delays, former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn’s criminal trial in Germany for his role in the “dieselgate” scandal has begun.
The trial began on Tuesday, nine years after Volkswagen admitted to falsifying emissions testing, causing worldwide industrial havoc. Winterkorn, accused of conspiracy to commit fraud, faces up to ten years in prison.
Volkswagen admitted 2015 that it had installed software to cheat pollution levels worldwide. According to the regional court in Braunschweig, the action against the former CEO involves about nine million vehicles sold in Europe and the United States, with customers suffering financial losses totalling hundreds of millions of euros.
Shortly after the issue erupted, Winterkorn resigned as head of the VW group, which includes brands such as Porsche, Audi, Skoda, and Seat.
The 77-year-old was scheduled to stand trial in 2021 alongside four other VW executives, but his case was divided and postponed due to his bad health.
However, earlier this year, the court in Braunschweig stated that the proceedings against him would begin this month.
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Since then, there have been additional concerns about his health, with reports indicating that he had to undergo surgery in mid-June, raising new issues about whether he would be able to complete the lengthy trial.
Approximately 89 hearings have been scheduled through September 2025.
False testimony and market manipulation
Winterkorn was also used of delivering misleading testimony to a German parliamentary committee in 2017 while it is mitigating the incident. He claimed to have learnt about the defeat devices in September 2015, but prosecutors allege it was earlier.
Winterkorn also faces charges of market manipulation. He is accused of “deliberately failing to inform the capital market in good time” after learning about the emissions-rigging software, which violates German stock market regulations.
Winterkorn already agreed to a settlement with Volkswagen in 2021, under which he will pay the business 11 million euros ($12 million) for the incident.
Volkswagen stated prior to the trial that it was not a party to the proceedings but would monitor them.
Rupert Stadler, former Audi CEO, is the highest-ranking senior executive convicted in the case. In June of last year, he received a suspended sentence and a fine as part of a bargain for admitting to fraud by carelessness.
The deception has already cost Volkswagen over 30 billion euros ($33 billion) in fines, legal costs, and compensation to car owners, primarily in the United States.
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