As of: February 14, 2024, 1:24 p.m
By: Marcel Reich
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Martin Winterkorn, former VW boss, denies in court his involvement in the emissions manipulation.
His statements could have a significant impact on the outcome of the trial.
Braunschweig - In the billion-dollar investor trial against Volkswagen and its main shareholder Porsche SE because of manipulated emissions values, former VW boss Martin Winterkorn has denied responsibility for the illegal defeat devices.
Winterkorn said on Wednesday before the Higher Regional Court in Braunschweig that he was not involved in the decisions about the development or use of the shutdown device.
“I neither requested nor encouraged this role nor condoned its use.”
It is the first time that ex-VW boss Martin Winterkorn has spoken out in court about the diesel scandal.
© Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
Winterkorn: “If I had been given a complete picture, I would not have hesitated”
Winterkorn said in a short statement that he only found out about the problems late and incompletely.
Initially, he assumed that VW would quickly find a technically and legally sound solution for diesel vehicles in the USA.
“If I had been given a complete picture, I would not have hesitated to tackle the events directly and clarify them.”
It is the first time that Winterkorn has spoken out about the diesel scandal in court.
So far, the 76-year-old had only spoken on the topic to the Bundestag investigative committee and to the law firms commissioned by VW.
His hearing is initially scheduled for two days.
The investor process is primarily concerned with the question of whether Volkswagen and Porsche informed investors too late about the extent of the diesel scandal, which caused the share price to fall sharply.
At the same time, criminal proceedings are pending against Winterkorn in Braunschweig for emissions manipulation.
The accusation here is commercial fraud.
In addition, criminal proceedings on suspicion of market manipulation have been reopened.
Winterkorn rejected both allegations.
VW scandal triggered numerous lawsuits
In 2015, under pressure from the EPA, Volkswagen admitted that it had manipulated diesel emissions values using software.
This ensured that the engines met the nitrogen oxide limits on the test bench, but emitted many times more of these toxic exhaust gases on the road.
The scandal triggered a large number of lawsuits.
In June 2023, the former head of the Volkswagen subsidiary Audi, Rupert Stadler, was sentenced by the Munich regional court to a suspended sentence and a fine worth millions.
For five years, the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court has been negotiating a model lawsuit brought by the Sparkasse fund company Deka Investment due to price losses suffered as a result of the VW emissions scandal.
The plaintiffs - mostly institutional investors - accuse Volkswagen and the defendant Porsche Holding of keeping the information about “Dieselgate” secret for a long time, thereby causing them to lose the value of their shares.
Volkswagen counters this by saying that the price relevance only became apparent through the publication of the EPA on September 18, 2015.
Compensation for the emissions scandal, primarily fines, damages and legal fees, has so far cost Volkswagen more than 32 billion euros.
With material from Reuters