BRAUNSCHWEIG (dpa-AFX) - At the end of the fraud trial relating to the VW diesel scandal, the four defendants made very personal statements. All of them made it clear that they do not share the view of the prosecutors and that the investigations against them have dominated their lives for almost ten years. In sometimes emotional statements, they emphasized how exhausting and tiring they found the nearly four-year trial before the Braunschweig Regional Court.
Prison sentences demanded
From the perspective of the public prosecutor's office, the four former managers and engineers of the Wolfsburg-based car manufacturer have been proven guilty of fraud in the trial that has been ongoing since September 2021. The prosecutors believe that probation is not sufficient for three of the four defendants. The public prosecutor's office requested prison terms of between three and four years for them. The defense, on the other hand, pleaded for three acquittals and one warning. The verdict in the trial could be handed down on Monday, May 26, as planned.
The men facing imprisonment made it clear on Friday that they were stunned by the sentence demanded ten years after the scandal came to light. However, they also described the pleas for the other defendants as "irritating and frightening," among other things. On the crucial question of who knew what and when, the trial before the economic crimes chamber was dominated from the outset by the fact that it was one person's word against another's.
Engineers who are said to have proposed the defeat device say, in essence: We expressed concerns and warned of consequences. Their superiors counter that problems were discussed, but never illegal actions.
Defendants see themselves as scapegoats
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 four defendants in the Braunschweig trial are essentially defending themselves against the allegations and see themselves more as pawns.
From the outset, the trial has been accompanied by criticism that former CEO Martin Winterkorn, a key figure, is missing. The case against the 77-year-old was separated for health reasons. /bch/DP/jha
