Former VW CEO Indicted in Germany Over L’Affaire Dieselgate

By Paul Riegler on 15 April 2019
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A VW Golf diesel

A VW Golf diesel

Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn along with four other VW executives was charged with fraud in the ongoing Dieselgate case.

The Staatsanwaltschaft, or state prosecutor, in Braunschweig is charging Winterkorn with fraud, embezzlement, and violating anti-trust laws.

Prosecutors there allege that Winterkorn was aware that VW was manipulating diesel emissions as early as 2014 but that he failed to inform authorities and customers.

In 2015, the German auto giant admitted to using software to skirt clean-air laws, making its cars appear to be less polluting than they were.

U.S. federal prosecutors indicted Winterkorn in 2018 on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy relating to Dieselgate.  He was accused of violating the U.S. Clean Air Act and defrauding customers in the United States.  More recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission said it was suing both Winterkorn and his former employer for carrying out “a massive fraud” by raising billions of dollars from investors with false information about the company’s prospects.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)

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