Criminal trial of former Volkswagen boss in diesel engine scandal tees off

Admin I Friday, March 15, 2024

 

BERLIN – A criminal trial against ex-Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn over his alleged role in the company’s diesel emissions scandal has been scheduled to begin in September.

The lengthy proceedings, which could last for more than a year, will combine multiple criminal complaints against the former Volkswagen chief executive.

Winterkorn faces allegations of fraud, false statements and market manipulation in the scandal, which became public after regulators in the United States in 2015 discovered that software on Volkswagen diesel-powered vehicles intentionally manipulated their performance during emissions testing.

Winterkorn denied any responsibility for the manipulation in testimony last month in a civil lawsuit brought by VW investors.

“I consider these allegations to be unfounded,” Winterkorn told the civil court in February.

The software on VW diesel engines allegedly avoided using more expensive emissions technology by making the engines run cleaner during government testing.

During actual road use, the software would make the engines operate at higher performance – but pump out far higher levels of environmentally damaging emissions.

“If I had been given a complete picture of the internal processes in the responsible specialist departments, I would not have hesitated to tackle and clarify the processes directly,” Winterkorn said in February.

The discovery of the emissions cheating software cost Winterkorn his job at VW and plunged the German auto giant into a major crisis.

Winterkorn will be 77 years old when his criminal trial in the city of Braunschweig, not far from VW’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, begins on September 3.

The court has scheduled 89 days of proceedings stretching into September 2025.