Now it’s finally happening: Almost nine years after the VW diesel scandal came to light, the role of the then CEO Martin Winterkorn is to be investigated by a German criminal court. The now 77-year-old is accused of commercial fraud, market manipulation and perjury. The reading of the charges is scheduled for 11 a.m. in the Braunschweig Regional Court. What can such a delayed trial still achieve?
“Dieselgate” with emissions manipulation in millions of VW vehicles was uncovered in September 2015 by investigations by US environmental authorities and scientists. The affair plunged VW into the worst crisis in the company’s history and cost billions of euros for the legal investigation. Winterkorn resigned and later said that he had to accept that his “name is linked to the so-called diesel affair”. The country’s once best-paid top manager always denied personal responsibility. The presumption of innocence applies.
At the beginning of 2024, Winterkorn spoke for the first time as a witness in court: “I consider these allegations to be inaccurate,” said the former CEO in the billion-dollar civil case brought by investors against VW before the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court. Winterkorn was referring to the two criminal proceedings for fraud and market manipulation brought by the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office. A charge of giving false testimony in the Bundestag has also been brought by Berlin prosecutors.
The regional court has scheduled almost 90 dates for the criminal trial until September 2025. Reports about the 77-year-old’s health have recently raised doubts about the planning. He is very weak, according to people close to him. For the trial, Winterkorn is expected to travel from Bavaria to Lower Saxony almost every week to sit in a courtroom for two days.
So is the ruthless clarification that Winterkorn announced in his 2015 apology video now coming? “I don’t have the answers to all the questions at this point either,” he said at the time. It’s hard to imagine that the former CEO has learned new things in recent years and is now sharing this knowledge with the commercial criminal court in Braunschweig.
There have long been judgments, fines, and discontinuance of proceedings in return for monetary penalties and compensation in the diesel scandal. However, the exact background and processes at the Wolfsburg carmaker remain a mystery to this day. The first major fraud trial against four other ex-VW managers and engineers has also not yet produced any major findings after three years of negotiations. Winterkorn was actually supposed to be in the dock in this trial from 2021. However, for health reasons, his case was separated and is now finally to be brought forward.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240903-930-221219/1
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