Volkswagen’s former chief executive Martin Winterkorn will stand trial with four other former colleagues, who are also accused of fraud, as well as serious tax evasion and fraudulent advertising. — Reuters pic
“The chamber has determined that there is sufficient suspicion, that is, an overwhelming possibility of conviction, of the accused Professor Doctor Winterkorn for commercial and organised fraud,” said the court in Brunswick in a statement. Volkswagen sank into a deep tangle of legal problems over its stunning revelation in September 2015 that it had installed devices in 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide to make them seem less polluting than they were when undergoing emission tests.The “dieselgate” cheating scandal plunged one of the main pillars of German industry into the biggest crisis in its existence.
The German car giant’s chief executive Herbert Diess and supervisory board chief Hans Dieter Poetsch were in September charged for allegedly failing to inform shareholders in a timely manner about the pollution cheating scandal in 2015.On top of this fraud trial, Winterkorn still faces charges over market manipulation.