Ten years after the revelation of the emissions fraud scandal involving German automotive giant Volkswagen, key executives at the time have been found guilty in court.
On May 26 (local time), the Braunschweig District Court in Germany announced that it had sentenced former head of engine development Jens Hadler to four years and six months in prison, and powertrain executive Hanno Jelden to two years and seven months in prison, both on charges including fraud.
Heinz-Jakob Neusser, the former head of development and the highest-ranking defendant, received a suspended sentence of one year and three months in prison, while the executive in charge of exhaust gas aftertreatment systems was also given a suspended sentence of one year and ten months.
The court concluded that the defendants were involved in criminal activities either by directly participating in the development of the emissions-manipulating software over several years, or by being aware of the manipulation and failing to take appropriate action.
Since their indictment by prosecutors in April 2019, the defendants have attempted to shift responsibility onto each other, claiming that they had warned of the risks associated with the manipulation program. Martin Winterkorn, former Volkswagen CEO who resigned immediately after the emissions scandal broke, was also indicted in connection with the same case but is undergoing a separate trial due to delays caused by health issues.
In addition, 31 other current and former Volkswagen employees have been indicted in connection with this case and are undergoing first-instance trials. Rupert Stadler, former CEO of Volkswagen subsidiary Audi, who was indicted at the Munich District Court, received a suspended sentence of one year and nine months in prison through a plea agreement in 2023, but is currently appealing the decision.
Nicknamed "Dieselgate," the Volkswagen emissions scandal came to light in September 2015 when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its investigation results. The EPA revealed that Volkswagen had intentionally manipulated software so that emissions would be reduced only during regulatory testing. Volkswagen later admitted to manipulating the software in a total of 10.7 million vehicles.
Since the emissions manipulation scandal, Volkswagen, Germany's largest automobile manufacturer, has recorded enormous losses totaling 33 billion euros (approximately 51.5 trillion won) due to various civil and criminal litigation costs. Prosecutions and civil lawsuits against related executives and employees are ongoing not only in the United States but also in France, Italy, and other European countries. In South Korea, the Audi Volkswagen Korea (AVK) subsidiary was found guilty, but German executives including former CEO Johannes Thammer immediately left the country after being indicted, resulting in continued delays in the trial process.
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