Ex-VW boss Martin Winterkorn ordered to stand trial over second set of dieselgate charges

Ex-Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn is to be tried on a second set of charges relating to the manufacturer’s diesel emissions scandal.

The Braunschweig state court announced its ruling today (Sep 24) after a decision earlier this month that he should stand trial for fraud.

The new set of charges are in connection with alleged market manipulation. A date is still to be finalised for both sets of proceedings.

Winterkorn quit from VW just days after the scandal broke in the USA in September 2015.

The company was found to be using ‘defeat device’ software that recognised when vehicles were on test stands and turned emission controls on, turning them off again during normal driving.

This meant the cars pumped out far more than the legal US limit of the pollutant nitrogen oxide, which harms people’s health.

Prosecutors say Winterkorn knew about the illegal software and deliberately failed to inform markets in good time of a ‘significant financial risk’ that had begun to emerge early in 2015.

However, Winterkorn’s lawyer has rejected charges that he had early knowledge of the use of the software in US diesel cars, saying significant information didn’t reach him.

VW has paid more than 30bn euros (circa £27bn) in fines and settlements over dieselgate.

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