Former Volkswagen boss Winterkorn to face trial over diesel cars that allegedly cheated on emissions tests

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn appeared in court on Tuesday on charges of fraud and market manipulation in connection with a corporate scandal involving Volkswagen’s use of manipulated software that allowed millions of cars to cheat on emissions tests, which in turn resulted in large amounts of harmful emissions.

Prosecutors say Winterkorn knew about illegal software long before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its discovery of the violation in September 2015. He resigned from his position days later.

He said he only learned of the practice shortly before it was announced and had previously testified during civil proceedings that the allegations against him were “not true.”

Winterkorn’s lawyer, Felix Doerr, said before the court hearing in Braunschweig on Tuesday that “our client categorically rejects the accusations against him.” He said Winterkorn’s position as CEO was not a justification for holding him responsible for the scandal in all its aspects.

Winterkorn, 77, was due to stand trial in 2021 along with four other VW executives, but his case was adjourned due to health problems.

The diesel scandal had wide-ranging consequences for the company and the auto industry. Volkswagen ultimately paid more than 31 billion euros ($34 billion) in fines and legal settlements. Sales of diesel cars, once favored for their fuel economy over gasoline-powered vehicles, plummeted as a share of the car market in Europe.

Winterkorn faces three separate charges: defrauding car buyers by selling cars with illegal software, stock market manipulation by failing to disclose required information to investors, and making false statements to a parliamentary inquiry committee in 2017. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

Court sessions in the complex case are scheduled until September 2025. The fraud indictment itself stretches to 692 pages, including the other four defendants, while the case file consists of 300 volumes with 75,000 pages of supporting documents.

Prosecutors in their indictment say Winterkorn learned of the problem at least by May 2014 but continued to allow the practice and sell manipulated cars. They say the software appeared in Volkswagen cars in Europe and the U.S. as early as 2006.

The software turned on emissions controls during testing, then turned them off during everyday driving, allowing cars to emit more than the legal levels of nitrogen oxide. Nitrogen oxide can irritate the respiratory tract and contribute to the development of asthma.