BRAUNSCHWEIG (dpa-AFX) - After almost four years and more than 170 trial days, the fraud trial relating to the VW diesel scandal is coming to an end. This Friday (May 16) is the time for the defendants' closing statements, according to a spokesperson for the Braunschweig Regional Court. It is still unclear whether all four former managers and engineers of the Wolfsburg-based car manufacturer will make use of this opportunity.
In recent days, the prosecution and defense presented their views on the extraordinary trial, one of the biggest industrial scandals in Germany, in closing arguments lasting several hours. The prosecutors demanded three prison sentences and one suspended sentence. The defense, on the other hand, pleaded for three acquittals and one warning.
A trial full of contradictions
The trial before the Braunschweig Economic Crimes Chamber was marked by these conflicting views from the outset: it is one person's word against another's. Engineers who allegedly proposed the defeat device say: "We expressed concerns and warned of the consequences." Their superiors counter that problems were discussed, but never illegal actions.
In September 2015, it became known in the US that VW had used a large-scale deception program that detected emissions tests and only then activated full emission cleaning. The scandal became known worldwide as "Dieselgate" and plunged Volkswagen into a deep crisis that has cost the company more than 30 billion euros to date.
Key figure Winterkorn missing
From the perspective of the public prosecutor's office, the defendants have been proven guilty of fraud in the trial, which has been ongoing since September 2021. The four men vehemently deny this, seeing themselves more as scapegoats and criticizing from the outset that a key figure, former CEO Martin Winterkorn, is missing. The case against the 77-year-old was separated for health reasons. According to current plans, the verdict in the current trial could be handed down on Monday, May 26. /bch/DP/jha
