STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) – The testimony of former Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche as a witness before the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Stuttgart has commenced. The OLG is hearing a model lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz concerning alleged emissions fraud. Earlier in the morning, a former board member was questioned as a witness.
The diesel scandal first came to light in 2015 through incidents at Volkswagen. Numerous investors accuse the publicly traded Stuttgart-based automaker of failing to inform them in a timely manner about the emissions issue – and are therefore seeking compensation for losses incurred.
Zetsche was to be questioned as part of the evidence gathering on whether the then-board had strategically decided to circumvent EU emissions standards and whether unauthorized defeat devices were installed between 2012 and 2018, the court stated in advance. Mercedes denies both such a board decision and the use of unauthorized defeat devices, the OLG wrote./rwi/DP/jha
