Recently, according to Reuters, a German court has reopened a criminal investigation into the former CEO of Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn, who resigned in 2015 amid the emissions cheating scandal. The court in Braunschweig, Germany, stated in a press release that the prosecution has filed a request to reopen the criminal proceedings, and a trial date has not yet been determined.
In a lawsuit filed in 2019, the prosecutors accused Winterkorn of failing to inform the capital market promptly and in accordance with the law about the fact that Volkswagen diesel engines were equipped with "defeat devices." These devices could make cars comply with nitrogen oxide emission limits during laboratory tests but emit higher-than-allowed levels on actual roads. This allowed the automaker to avoid the high costs of installing emission control systems.
Winterkorn has denied these charges, claiming that he was unaware of any emissions cheating before the scandal was exposed in 2015. Due to health reasons, legal proceedings against Winterkorn were temporarily suspended in early 2021 and have now been resumed at the request of the public prosecutor's office.
Since 2015, Volkswagen has been embroiled in the "Dieselgate" scandal, where the company admitted to installing software in millions of vehicles to deceive emissions tests. The scandal led to Volkswagen facing its most severe crisis in history, resulting in losses of up to €32 billion (approximately $35 billion).
The first executive convicted in connection with the scandal was Rupert Stadler, former CEO of Volkswagen subsidiary Audi. Stadler admitted involvement in the emissions cheating scheme and was sentenced in June of this year to prison and fined for fraud.
