The court in Braunschweig (Lower Saxony) has begun hearing the case against former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn in connection with the diesel scandal.
Oku.Az The DPA news agency reported on the matter.
The Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office is accusing the former top executive of fraud, perjury and market manipulation. According to investigators, the former head of the group knew that in 2014 the group had updated the car’s software worth tens of millions of euros, which did not solve the problem of air pollution.
Winterkorn has pleaded not guilty.
His lawyer, Felix Derr, said that from the defense’s point of view, the fact that Winterkorn was chairman of Volkswagen during the years of the scandal does not make him guilty.
The process is expected to last until September 2025.
In 2015, it became known that Volkswagen cars were equipped with software that allowed the indicators of harmful substances in gases emitted into the air to be underestimated. Thanks to this system, the cars seemed to fully comply with accepted standards, but in reality the indicators were several times higher than the established maximum level of air pollution.
The investigation believes Winterkorn was aware of the manipulations but did not immediately inform financiers and investors of the potential risks.
