The US Justice Department indicted Volkswagen’s former CEO Martin Winterkorn for conspiring with fellow executives to cover up the diesel emissions fraud. The conspiracy is said to have gone all the way up to the company’s topmost ranks.
Winterkorn had earlier stated that he was not aware of the cheating and would have stopped it if he had known about it. However, prosecutors claim that Winterkorn had known about the issue but agreed with colleagues to continue with the fraud and deception of US regulators.
Volkswagen had admitted to using software that enabled to cheat emission tests in millions of its diesel vehicles. The pollution controls in the vehicles would work in testing labs and then get turned off while on the road causing the vehicles to emit high levels of toxic gases.
Winterkorn, who resigned shortly after news of the scandal broke out in 2015, is currently in Germany, which has a no-extradition policy to non-EU countries. Even though his chances of facing trial in the US are slim, he can still be prosecuted in Germany. German officials are investigating the former chief and are cooperating with US officials on the matter.
Along with Winterkorn, around 39 people are being investigated in the emissions scandal. Winterkorn could get up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and up to 20 years on wire fraud charges along with hefty fines. Last year, Volkswagen was fined $2.8 billion for defrauding US regulators.
Most Popular
Intensity Therapeutics is establishing a new field of localized cancer reduction: CEO
Intensity Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: INTS) is a clinical biotechnology company engaged in the discovery development, and commercialization of first-in-class cancer drugs that attenuate tumors with minimal side effects while training
INTU Earnings: Intuit Q1 2025 adj. profit rises on higher revenues
Financial technology company Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) Thursday announced results for the first quarter of 2025, reporting a modest increase in adjusted earnings. The Mountain View-headquartered company’s first-quarter revenue came
Riding the AI wave, Nvidia looks set to stay on the high-growth path
After delivering strong results for the third quarter, Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) this week said the launch of its new-generation Blackwell chip is on track. The company is thriving on