The Braunschweig Regional Court in northern Germany on Monday convicted four former Volkswagen executives of fraud over the "Dieselgate" scandal.  

The verdict brings a massive trial to an end after almost four years. The scandal surrounding the manipulation of diesel car emissions tests came to light in September 2015. The Wolfsburg-based automaker had shortly before admitted to false test results in the US. 

Prison time for Volkswagen executives 

Two of the executives were sentenced to several years in prison, with two other former employees receiving suspended sentences.

A former head of diesel engine development was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. The former head of drive electronics received two years and seven months in prison.

The highest-ranking defendant, a former member of the Volkswagen brand's development board, received one year and three months' probation. A former department head was sentenced to one year and ten months' probation.

The global scandal, widely known as Dieselgate, plunged the Wolfsburg-based carmaker into a deep crisis.

Volkswagen has faced countless lawsuits and estimated the total cost of the scandal at more than €30 billion ($34 billion).

The public prosecutor's office had demanded between two and four years in prison and considered probation appropriate in only one case. The defense, however, pleaded for three acquittals and one warning.

Proceedings against former CEO unclear

Former chief executive Martin Winterkorn was originally due to stand trial alongside the four, but proceedings against him were suspended for health reasons before they began in September 2021.

Winterkorn has since appeared in court as both a witness and a defendant, repeatedly denying any responsibility for the scandal.

A recent accident and hospitalization further interrupted his case, and it remains unclear if or when the proceedings against the now 78-year-old will resume.

Winterkorn, once Germany's highest-paid executive, resigned shortly after the scandal broke but has denied any personal responsibility. Prosecutors alleged in court that he knew about the illegal software as early as May 2014—well before the timeline he has acknowledged.

Edited by Wesley Dockery