Fraud trial of ex-Volkswagen boss delayed by health issues
Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn's trial on fraud
charges in connection with the automaker's diesel emissions scandal has been
delayed because of health problems, a German court said Thursday.
The Braunschweig state court said it decided to separate
Winterkorn's case from that of four other defendants, who are set to go on
trial Sept. 16 as planned. Proceedings against the 74-year-old Winterkorn will
have to follow "at a later date," it said, adding that it isn't
currently possible to give a reliable forecast for when he will be able to face
trial.
The court said the move was made necessary by Winterkorn's
health situation and a recent operation. The trial had already been delayed
twice because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Judges ruled a year ago that Winterkorn must stand trial on
the fraud charges. They found that car buyers suffered a financial loss when
they bought a car without being aware it was equipped with illegal software.
Winterkorn, who has denied wrongdoing, resigned from
Volkswagen days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a
notice of violation on Sept. 18, 2015.
The company had for years been using software that
recognized when vehicles were on test stands and turned emission controls on,
then turned the emission controls off during normal driving. As a result, the
cars emitted far more than the legal U.S. limit of nitrogen oxide, a pollutant
that harms people's health.
In a separate case, Winterkorn also faces trial in
Braunschweig on charges of market manipulation. He is accused of allegedly
knowing about the installation of an illegal "defeat device" in about
500,000 cars on the U.S. market and deliberately failing to inform markets in
good time of a "significant financial risk" that had started to
materialize in early 2015. He has rejected those accusations.
Winterkorn also faces criminal charges in the U.S. but
cannot be extradited. Volkswagen paid more than $35 billion in fines and
settlements over the scandal.
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