(Adjusted: “Manipulation flew to 2015 in the USA”)
Braunschweig (dpa -Afx) – “A particularly serious case of fraud” – The economic criminal chamber of the Braunschweig District Court has spoken to Volkswagen (Volkswagen (VW) VZ) almost ten years after the diesel scandal was exposed. Two years of prison sentences have to compete, two ex-employees received probation.
At four and a half years in prison for a former head of diesel engine development, the judges even went beyond the public prosecutor’s request. According to the chamber, the 59-year-old was “at the center of the action” and received the toughest punishment after almost four years of trial with 175 days of negotiations.
The judgment is not final and the legal processing has not ended even after this verdict.
Designed follow judgment with a lowered head
A former head of the drive electronics is also said to go to prison. The 65-year-old was sentenced to two years and seven months. Above all, the two those affected by the detention persecuted the more than three -hour justification to the judgment in the almost full courtroom with a lowered head.
The highest accused, an ex-development board of the Volkswagen brand, received one year and three months on probation. A former department head was sentenced to one year and ten months. He was also the first VW (Volkswagen (VW) VZ) employee who admitted the fraud against US authorities.
Peasant victim in the diesel affair?
For all defendants, the chamber saw gangy fraud as proven from the time of their knowledge of the cheat software. The chamber estimated the damage caused by around 2.1 billion euros, for which not everyone is equally responsible.
During the process, the four defendants had made it clear that they saw themselves as a peasant victim in the diesel affair. The defenders had requested three acquittals and a warning. Accordingly, her reaction was canceled on Monday: “The verdict is wrong,” said lawyer Philipp Gehrmann after the announcement. The chamber with the sentence of more than two years in prison, especially for his accused, was far beyond the target and announced revision.
Manipulation flew up in the USA in 2015
The scandal for manipulation in exhaust gas tests from diesel cars was blown up in September 2015. In the United States, the Wolfsburg carmaker had recently granted false test results. A few days later, CEO Winterkorn resigned. VW slipped into one of its greatest crises, which according to its own statements so far cost around 33 billion euros.
The chairman, Christian Schütz, made it clear that the four convicted former managers were not only responsible for responsibility. The affected motors were developed by a variety of people, and there were no plans to abolish the technology, said Schütz. The manipulations would have to be viewed in terms of division and in a very hierarchical system. There are other involved with key roles, some of which are not accused.
Judge: Witnesses with incorrect or inaccurate information
Richter Schütz made it clear right from the start that he disagreed with some testimonies during the process. Witnesses have deliberately given incorrect or inaccurate information because they were partly involved. With regard to a witness, Schütz even said that he had shamelessly lied to the “chamber”.
The judge also discussed that the investigative complex already had settings against money requirements. As a result, the accusation of pleasure statements was in the room in order to take themselves out of the line of fire. Schütz emphasized that his sixth criminal chamber was only responsible for the four defendants. However, he also made it clear that his chamber would probably not have stopped some of the other procedures.
Further procedures in the diesel scandal
After the first process and the complex against Winterkorn, four further criminal proceedings against a total of 31 accused are open in Braunschweig. As a spokesman for the regional court announced after the judgment, the proceedings against five accused should begin in November.
It was originally planned that the former Volkswagen group boss Martin Winterkorn will sit on the dock. However, his process part was separated before the start in September 2021 for health reasons. In the meantime, Winterkorn commented on both as a witness and as a defendant and pointed out the responsibility for the diesel scandal.
An accident with a stay in the clinic interrupted the trial against the most prominent defendant. It is completely open whether and when the procedure can be continued against the now 78-year-old
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