By Euronews with AP
Published on
Four former Volkswagen executives have been found guilty of fraud for their role in the so-called “Dieselgate” emissions-cheating scandal that shook the automotive industry a decade ago.
Judges at the Commercial Criminal Chamber in the German city of Braunschweig sentenced the former head of diesel development to four and a half years in prison, and the head of drive train electronics to two years and seven months.
The other two defendants received suspended sentences of 15 months and 10 months. All four were responsible for various aspects of engine technology at the carmaker.
The scandal began in 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation.
It accused the company of rigging engine control software to let diesel-powered cars pass emissions tests while they in fact emitted far more pollution when actually driving them.
The scandal was a major crisis for the company, which has since paid more than €33 billion in fines and compensation to vehicle owners.
However, despite the verdict after a four-year trial, this is far from the end of the story.
Monday’s sentence can be appealed within a week and prosecutors are continuing in their bid to find out how widely the emission fraud was known within the company.
There are also reportedly several other criminal proceedings pending.
Originally, former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn was supposed to sit in the dock. However, his part of the trial was separated in September 2021 after his defence claimed he could not appear for health reasons.
