German prosecutor has indicted 14 senior Volkswagen employees for role they played in cheating diesel scandal, German news agency writes DPA.
A spokesman for the prosecutor says against DPA that they have been charged with fraud, tax avoidance, misleading advertising and indirectly providing false certificates for diesel engines. It is not yet known who exactly have been charged. Volkswagen has not yet responded to the new charges. In addition to the fourteen Volkswagen drivers, the driver of a supplier was also charged.
The fifteen people are not the first to be charged for their role in the cheating affair. Previously, former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, among others, was prosecuted. The lawsuit against him has been postponed due to the corona pandemic and will begin in September. In addition to Winterkorn, former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler is already involved in a lawsuit over the diesel scandal.
People were also charged lower down the ranks, including Audi engineer Giovanni Pamio. He opened a book in October about what happened behind the scenes to get diesel engines under the emission requirements. The engines had a good appearance during a test cycle, but subsequently turned out to emit much more in practice.
The diesel scandal has already cost Volkswagen more than € 32 billion in fines, modifications to cars and legal costs.