The Braunschweig Regional Court in northern Germany sentenced four former Volkswagen leaders on Monday former former leaders “Dieselgate” scandal.
The verdict ends a massive trial after almost four years. The scandal surrounding the Handling Diesel car emission tests was revealed in September 2015. The car manufacturer based in Wolfsburg had not sentenced to the admission of false tests to the United States.
Prison for the leaders of Volkswagen
Two of the leaders were sentenced to several years in prison, two other former employees were sentenced to suspended sentences.
A former chief of diesel engine development was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Former Drive Electronics chief experienced two years and seven months in prison.
The highest defendant, a former member of the Volkswagen brand development council, received a year and three months of probation. A former head of department was sentenced to one year and ten months of probation.
The world scandal, widely known as dieselgate, plunged the car manufacturer based in Wolfsburg in a deep crisis.
Volkswagen has faced countless prosecution and estimated the total cost of the scandal at more than 30 billion euros ($ 34 billion).
The prosecutor’s office demanded between two and four years in prison and considered appropriate probation in one case. The defense, however, pleaded for three acquittals and a warning.
Procedures against the old CEO are not clear
Former director general Martin Winterkorn was originally to be tried alongside the four, but the procedures against him were suspended for health reasons before their start in September 2021.
Winterkorn has since appeared before the court as a witness and defendant, repeatedly denying any responsibility for the scandal.
A recent accident and hospitalization have also interrupted his case, and it is not clear if or when the procedure against the 78 -year -old man resumes.
Wintertkorn, once the best paid framework in Germany resigned, resigned shortly after the breaking of the scandal but denied any personal responsibility. The prosecutors allegedly allegedly alleged the court that he knew the illegal software in May 2014 – long before the calendar he recognized.
Published by Wesley Dockery
