Martin Winterkorn, former Volkswagen boss speaks on allegation of fraud, deceit in dieselgate

 

BRAUNCHWEIG – The former boss of German carmaker Volkswagen denied all charges relating to the diesel emissions scandal on the second day of his high-profile trial in the northern city of Braunschweig.

Martin Winterkorn faces fraud and other charges linked to the scheme by Volkswagen to use software to deceive environmental regulators in the United States over emissions from the company’s diesel engines.

“The public prosecutor’s accusation that I failed to take action that was required of me in my role as [chief executive], deceived and harmed customers and shareholders, and thus made myself liable to prosecution, hits me very hard indeed at the end of my professional career,” he said at the Braunschweig District Court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors alleged in court on Tuesday that Winterkorn knew details about the illegal software by May 2014 at the latest, earlier than the executive has acknowledged.

He faces charges including commercial fraud, market manipulation and making a false statement. In his opening statement, Winterkorn rejected all the charges.

“Dieselgate” was uncovered in September 2015 through investigations by US environmental authorities and scientists.

They found that the carmaker had manipulated emissions levels with special software. These so-called “defeat devices” meant that the cars complied with nitrogen oxide limits during test conditions, but not on the road.

Prosecutors said Winterkorn’s failure to do anything about the illegal activity after allegedly learning about it resulted in the sale of at least 65,000 manipulated vehicles in the US. The scandal cost Volkswagen more than €32 billion ($35.3 billion) in fines and settlements alone. The affair plunged VW into the worst crisis in the company’s history and severely damaged its reputation.