US prosecutors have filed charges against Martin Winterkorn, the former CEO of German carmaker Volkswagen, over his involvement in the Dieselgate scandal. Winterkorn is accused of conspiring to mislead US regulators.
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Prosecutors have charged former VW chief Martin Winterkorn with conspiring to mislead US regulators over a diesel emissions scandal.
Winterkorn, who resigned in September 2015 in response to the scandal, said he was not aware of any wrongdoing at the time of his resignation.
On Friday, the company released a short statement: "Volkswagen continues to cooperate with investigations by the Department of Justice into the conduct of individuals. It would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases."
The facts of the case
The indictment was unsealed on Thursday in a district court in Detroit after prosecutors filed charges against Winterkorn in secret in March.
The indictment says Winterkorn was twice informed the company had cheated US emissions tests — once in May 2014 and again in July 2015 — well before the scandal became public in 2015.
In total, Winterkorn is charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act.
A court spokesman said Winterkorn faces up to 25 years in prison and a maximum fine of $275,000 (€230,000) if found guilty.
A spokeswoman for the US attorney's office in Detroit said Winterkorn is not in custody.
Dieselgate: A timeline
VW's emissions scandal plunged the automaker into its deepest crisis ever. It brought with it everlasting damage to VW's reputation and massive fees and penalties — not to mention compensation claims from car owners.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
The disaster unfolds — September 2015
About two weeks after Volkswagen admitted behind closed doors to US environmental regulators that it had installed cheating software in some 11 million of its diesel vehicles worldwide, the Environmental Protection Agency shared that information with the public. It was September 18, 2015. The ensuing crisis would eventually take a few unexpected turns.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Spata
The boss must go, long live the boss — September 2015
Volkswagen's then-CEO Martin Winterkorn (above) had little choice but to step down several days after news of the scandal broke. In September 2015, he tendered his resignation, but retained his other posts within the Volkswagen Group. Winterkorn's successor was Matthias Müller. Until taking the reins at VW, Müller had been the chairman at Porsche, a VW subsidiary.
Image: picture-alliance/Sven Simon
Raiding headquarters — October 2015
Regulators in the US weren't the only ones investigating VW. Authorities in Lower Saxony, the German state in which VW is based, were also scrutinizing the company. On October 8 2015, state prosecutors raided VW's headquarters along with several other corporate locations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Steffen
Hell breaks loose — January 2016
On January 4, 2016, the US government filed a lawsuit against VW in Detroit, accusing the German automaker of fraud and violations of American climate protection regulations. The lawsuit sought up to $46 billion for violations of the Clean Air Act.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Burgi
Quit or forced out? — March 2016
In March 2016, the head of VW in the US, Michael Horn, resigned. In the initial days and weeks after the scandal broke, he was the one US authorities turned to for information. He issued an official apology on behalf of the automaker, asking for the public's forgiveness.
Image: Getty Images/C. Somodevilla
Settlement — October 2016
On October 25 2016, a US judge approved a final settlement that would have VW pay $15.3 billion. In addition, affected cars would be retrofitted with better, non-deceptive hardware and software, or else VW would buy them back completely from customers.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Imitators — July 2017
When dieselgate first emerged in 2015, analysts said it was likely other car makers were also cheating tests. But it wasn't until 2017 that other companies were targeted in probes. In July, German authorities launched investigations into luxury car makers Porsche and Daimler for allegedly cheating emissions tests. Others, such as Audi and Chrysler, have also been hit by similar allegations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Kraufmann
Public still supportive — December 2017
Despite dieselgate, VW has managed to keep the emissions scandal from utterly tarnishing its image. According to several polls, between 55 to 67 percent of Germans continue to trust the automaker. In the US, polls show that roughly 50 percent still believe the German company produces worthwhile vehicles.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Klose
Fuming over monkeys — January 2018
In late January, however, VW suffered another heavy blow over reports that the company experimented on monkeys and made the animals inhale diesel fumes. To make matters worse, a separate experiment that had humans inhale relatively harmless nitrogen dioxide was revealed at the same time. Some media wrongly interpreted this to mean humans were also inhaling toxic fumes.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Gentsch
Canadian court demands millions — January 2020
Years after the scandal that caused Volkswagen to pay CAN$2.4 billion (US$1.83 billion), a court in Toronto order a further fine of CAN$196.5 million. Volkswagen pleaded guilty of violating in environmental laws. Prosecutor Tom Lemon noted that the fine was "26 times the highest fine ever for a Canadian environmental offence."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Knipping
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'All the way to the top'
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that the charges show "Volkswagen's scheme to cheat its legal requirements went all the way to the top of the company."
VW said it would not comment on individual legal cases and added it was still cooperating with the US Department of Justice.
Unlikely to go to court: The US has said it believes Winterkorn is in Germany. But if the 70-year-old is in Germany, he is unlikely to face the charges in a US courtroom as the German government rarely permits extradition requests for its citizens.
Not the only one: US prosecutors have already charged eight VW managers in connection with the scandal. Two have already pleaded guilty and six have avoided extradition to the US by staying in Germany.
German investigation ongoing: German authorities are conducting a separate investigation into Winterkorn and other VW executives' involvement in the emissions scandal. The group have been accused in Germany of committing fraud and engaging in market manipulation.