Former Volkswagen CEO denies allegations in dieselgate trial, resurfaces after nine years

The 77-year-old “rejects the allegations made against him,” Felix Doerr told reporters at a court in Braunschweig, not far from VW’s historic headquarters in Wolfsburg.

The carmaker admitted in 2015 that it had installed software that manipulated emissions levels in millions of vehicles worldwide, triggering one of the biggest industrial scandals in post-war Germany.

Also read: Volkswagen considers closing historic plants in Germany due to costs.

Winterkorn faces charges including fraud involving the use of so-called cheating devices to make cars appear less polluting in laboratory tests than they actually are. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

He resigned as head of the VW group (which owns brands such as Porsche, Audi, Skoda and Seat) shortly after the crisis broke out, but earlier attempts to bring him to justice failed.

He was due to stand trial in 2021 along with four other VW executives, but the proceedings against him were split and adjourned due to his poor health.

Upon arriving at the court in Braunschweig, Winterkorn told reporters he felt “quite well.”

When asked how he remembers his life’s work, Winterkorn replied: “When I see beautiful cars, with great sentiment.”

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At the beginning of the hearing, he addressed the court to confirm his personal details. He spoke slowly, leaning back in his chair.

Questions about Winterkorn’s health loom over the trial. There were reports that he had to undergo surgery in mid-June.

Some 89 hearings are scheduled through September 2025.

But his lawyer, Doerr, said the defense team is confident he can handle the trial, and they do not expect the case to conclude before next year.

Buyers are being deceived

Winterkorn faces several charges.

The court charged him with conspiracy to defraud. This charge was based on the claim that buyers of some vehicles in the group were “misled as to their characteristics” due to the use of defeat devices.

The alleged fraud affected approximately nine million vehicles sold in Europe and the United States, with buyers facing financial losses amounting to hundreds of millions of euros.

However, Winterkorn was not charged with participating in the crime throughout its duration, from 2006 to 2015. He was VW’s CEO from 2007 to 2015.

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He was also charged with giving false testimony to a German parliamentary committee in 2017 as it investigated the scandal. He said he only knew about the defeat devices in September 2015, but prosecutors say it was earlier.

Winterkorn is also charged with market manipulation. He is accused of “intentionally failing to inform the capital market in a timely manner” after learning about the emissions manipulation software, in violation of German stock exchange regulations.

Winterkorn already reached a settlement with Volkswagen in 2021 under which he will pay the company 11 million euros ($12 million) in connection with the controversy.

Also read: Car sales in Europe stagnate while demand for electric vehicles in Germany plummets.

Before the hearing, Volkswagen stressed that it was not a party to the proceedings, although it said it would monitor them.

The highest-ranking former executive to be convicted so far in connection with the scandal is former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler.

Last June, he received a suspended sentence and a fine as part of a plea agreement after pleading guilty to negligent fraud.

The fraud has already cost VW more than 30 billion euros in fines, legal costs and compensation to car owners, mainly in the United States.

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Date first published: 05/09/2024, 06:36 AM IST