VW diesel scandal: Winterkorn trial wobbles | tagesschau.de

Ex-VW boss Winterkorn should be operated on again on the hip. This could further delay the legal processing of what is probably the largest industrial scandal in the Federal Republic.

The process over the VW diesel scandal could be postponed for the third time. The fraud proceedings against the former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and four other VW managers are due to begin in Braunschweig in mid-September. That is almost exactly six years to the day after the exhaust gas manipulation at Volkswagen was revealed. According to information from NDR and “Süddeutscher Zeitung” (SZ), Winterkorn will be operated on again in the first week of September. This means that the trial date could not be tenable.

Observers expect a delay

Winterkorn’s hips are badly damaged. The former VW boss has already had one hip fixed, but that required two operations. This postponed the surgery date for the second hip. Winterkorn has apparently now recovered from the first interventions. Winterkorn’s lawyer let the Braunschweig Regional Court know that the doctors consider a rapid operation to be urgently necessary, otherwise there is a risk of irreparable damage.

Several parties involved in the process assume that Winterkorn will need several weeks to recover from the renewed intervention. And that the court has no choice but to postpone the proceedings to late autumn – probably to November. The Regional Court of Braunschweig stated on request from NDR and SZ, there is “no news”. The plan is to start the process in September. As soon as there are changes, they will be communicated. Winterkorn’s lawyer did not want to comment on request.

Medical report requested

The long-planned fraud process against one of the once most important company bosses in one of the largest industrial scandals in Germany is not a good star. Originally, Winterkorn and four other VW defendants were supposed to come to court on February 25 for commercial and gang fraud. The Braunschweig Regional Court then postponed the start of the trial to April 20 because of the pandemic. In the spring, the court adjourned again, also because of Corona, and set September 16 as the new start of the proceedings.

The court in turn apparently wants to make sure that Winterkorn’s health is actually so badly damaged. The district court is said to have requested a medical report from the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (LMU). If possible, this should be available by the beginning of next week. The Braunschweig Regional Court did not want to comment on this. In circles of those involved in the proceedings, it is assumed that the LMU will support the vote of Winterkorn’s doctors. So far, their assessments have proven to be correct.

If that happens again, there is a lot to be said for a process shift. Starting the proceedings against the other four defendants and separating the criminal proceedings against Winterkorn would probably mean that the ex-CEO could only come to court in two to three years. That is how long the first VW lawsuit over the emissions affair should take. Since Winterkorn is already 74 years old and not in the best of health, a long delay would run the risk that he would not even come to court in the end.

Trial against ex-Audi boss has been going on for a long time

Things went differently with Winterkorn’s former pupil, the former Audi boss and VW board member Rupert Stadler. Audi is a VW subsidiary and is considered the nucleus of exhaust gas fraud. A fraud process has been going on against Stadler at the Munich District Court II for almost a year. Like Winterkorn, Stadler rejects all allegations.

During Winterkorn’s tenure, VW sold millions of customers diesel vehicles that emitted significantly more exhaust gases than stated. They were advertised as clean and environmentally friendly cars. Winterkorn itself, however, is only charged with 65,000 vehicles. He found out about the manipulations late, but then did not stop them. The VW Group and Winterkorn have now reached an agreement under civil law on damages. Winterkorn is said to pay 11.2 million euros to VW.