The emissions scandal involving manipulated diesel engines at Volkswagen is catching up with former CEO Martin Winterkorn. The Braunschweig regional court reopened the proceedings on suspicion of market manipulation, as the court announced on Thursday. It was initially unclear when the process would begin.
In the indictment filed by the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office in September 2019, the defendant is accused of not informing the capital market in a timely manner about the installation of an impermissible defeat device in diesel engines. At the beginning of January 2021, the proceedings against Winterkorn, who had to resign after the diesel scandal was exposed in 2015, were temporarily discontinued due to illness.
The chamber justified the decision at the time with the so-called NOx procedure, among other things because of the accusation of commercial fraud. The expected punishment in the proceedings would not be significant in comparison. Winterkorn had rejected the allegations against him and claimed that he had known nothing about any illegal activity before the manipulations became known.
Winterkorn has not yet been able to take part in the NOx proceedings because, according to the court, he was not physically able to do so. Therefore, at the request of the public prosecutor, the regional court is now reopening the proceedings on suspicion of market manipulation. In addition, the Chamber has now come to the conclusion that the penalty for violating the Securities Trading Act could have an impact. Four Volkswagen managers have been being tried in the regional court since September 2021. Ex-Audi boss Rupert Stadler was sentenced to a suspended sentence in Munich in June.
Diesel scandal cost VW billions
In mid-December, the Braunschweig regional court approved charges against seven other VW Group employees. They are accused of fraud in a particularly serious case and of violating the law against unlawful competition. There is also possible tax evasion for some of the defendants. The court did not name the defendants.
The fall of 2006, when the targeted deception is said to have begun, came at a time when VW wanted to catch up with competitors in the difficult US market. A major marketing offensive for “clean diesel” was intended to win more customers. In September 2015, it emerged that the company was falsifying the measured values using hidden software codes instead of using more expensive exhaust technology. These ensured that the tests were fully cleaned, but emissions were many times higher during road use. The revelation of the scandal plunged VW into the worst crisis in its history. The car manufacturer put the costs for the “consequences of the diesel issue” at around 32 billion euros.