Berlin (AFP) – German prosecutors asked for jail sentences Friday in the trial of four former Volkswagen managers accused of fraud in the “dieselgate” emissions-cheating scandal. The defendants allegedly organised commercial fraud and tax evasion in the scandal which has rocked the global car industry since September 2015, when Volkswagen admitted tampering with millions of diesel vehicles to dupe pollution tests.
The defendants include Heinz-Jakob Neusser, former technical director at Volkswagen, and three others only named by prosecutors as Jens H., Hanno J., and Thorsten D. The former managers at the German auto giant held a variety of posts in product development, including emissions management. Prosecutors requested jail sentences of three years for two of the accused and four years for another, a spokeswoman for the regional court in Brunswick said in a statement. A two-year suspended sentence was sought for the final defendant. The spokeswoman did not specify which defendant prosecutors had targeted with which sentence.
The quartet, who have been on trial since 2021, were initially set to have their cases heard alongside former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn. But the court decided to split off proceedings against Winterkorn, who was unable to appear because of ill health. The former auto executive finally went on trial in September, before the court again suspended proceedings in October, while he was not fit to take the stand.
The highest-ranking former executive to have been convicted in the scandal so far is ex-Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, who was fined and given a suspended sentence in 2023 after admitting to fraud by negligence. The dieselgate affair had already cost VW more than 30 billion euros ($34 billion) in fines, legal costs, and compensation to car owners, mainly in the United States.
© 2024 AFP
