A number of Volkswagen executives have been charged by German prosecutors with misleading shareholders over vehicle emissions as part of the infamous “Dieselgate” scandal, according to recent reports.
The Wall Street Journal reports that German prosecutors have charged -Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Herbert Diess, Chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch, and former CEO Martin Winterkorn for allegedly misleading shareholders in the months prior to the firm’s 2015 “Dieselgate” diesel emissions-cheating scandal. The 635-page indictment from prosecutors in Braunschweig near Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg argues that the executives withheld key information about the scandal from investors in an attempt to uphold the firm’s share price.
The company has attempted to put the emissions scandal behind it for some time, the indictments of the executives and in particular, Chief Executive Herbert Diess is a huge blow to the firm. The company’s shares dropped by nearly half in value in 2015 when it was revealed that the firm that cheated the emissions tests of diesel-powered vehicles for almost a decade. The ensuing criminal and civil cases along with fines and penalties cost the company around $30 billion.
Volkswagen and the accused executives have stated that the indictment is groundless and Diess stated through his lawyer that he would continue to operate as CEO of the firm. Prosecutors argue that the executives knew about the cheating and potential damages in 2015 and should have informed financial markets about the U.S. investigation.
“But instead, each one of them intentionally and with full awareness decided not to publish an ad hoc statement in order to keep Volkswagen’s share price at its current level and prevent losses for VW AG,” said prosecutors in a statement. Attorneys for Pötsch who became chairman in 2015 stated that the indictment was groundless saying: “In the summer of 2015, no obligation to inform the capital market arose at any time even from a purely capital-market law perspective.”
Attorney for Winketron stated that the former Volkswagen CEO who resigned following the 2015 scandal “had no prior knowledge of the intentional use of illegal engine control software in U.S. diesel cars.” Arndt Ellinghorst, an automotive analyst at Evercore ISI, a brokerage, commented on the indictment stating: “These charges will trigger a long-lasting court case and we believe it to be unlikely that VW will face material negative financial and/or management consequences.”
Following the Dieselgate scandal in 2015, two Volkswagen executives pled guilty to U.S. law violations and are serving time in U.S. prisons.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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