The trial against former VW boss Winterkorn has begun in Braunschweig. He himself has barely made any statements so far. His line of defence: “he did not cheat” and “did not harm anyone”.
Less than half an hour before the trial begins, Martin Winterkorn appears in front of the cameras in the Braunschweig district court, surrounded by his lawyers. He walks slowly, haltingly, has raised his head, and tries to smile confidently. But it doesn’t seem to be easy for him. When asked by journalists, he answers briefly: he is “fine” today, but the past few years have been difficult. “Our client firmly denies the accusations made against him,” says his defense attorney Felix Dörr on his behalf. For the defense, at least, it is clear that Winterkorn “did not cheat” and “did not harm anyone.”
Then the former VW boss enters the courtroom. Winterkorn has to answer to the economic criminal court in the course of the diesel scandal for alleged commercial fraud, market manipulation and perjury. Some spectators have already taken their seats behind a glass pane, but there are still seats free. The courtroom was specially searched beforehand by a police dog, spectators had to go through a scanner like at the airport, and all bags were checked.
Former VW employees and managers have been on trial for this since 2021, and now “Mr. Volkswagen” is also on trial. Winterkorn was actually supposed to be in the dock with the other managers. But due to health problems, the 77-year-old is now getting his own trial to clarify what he knew and when, and what he did with this knowledge.
In 2015, US authorities discovered that VW had installed illegal switch-off devices in the engine control software of its vehicles. The scandal surrounding the cheating software – sometimes called acoustic function, sometimes switching logic – cost Volkswagen more than 32 billion euros in legal proceedings alone. Winterkorn resigned in 2015 a few days after it became known, thereby assuming political responsibility. He always denied personal responsibility. “Winterkorn: First he pollutes the air, now he’s got problems on his knees and hips!” is what is written on a protest poster outside the court. A handful of people have gathered here in green safety vests. One of their other posters reads: “Jail instead of pension!”
Winterkorn appears calm and focused
Winterkorn is wearing a dark blue suit, white shirt and blue tie, as always his rimless glasses. The judge asks him to give his personal details: “My name is Martin Winterkorn,” he says, raising his voice as if he were asking a question. The judge tells him what to say next: date of birth, place of residence, marital status. Then senior public prosecutor Michael Weber begins to read the first indictment. In total, there are three indictments for the same allegations of commercial fraud, perjury and market manipulation.
The former VW boss opens the yellow folder that lies in front of him. He reads the indictment, underlines and makes notes here and there, frowning in concentration. Only rarely does he look up, let his gaze wander to the judge or the audience. Then he licks a finger and turns the page.
Winterkorn is said to have knowingly concealed excessively high guideline values
In total, the reading of the first indictment lasts just under an hour and a half. It focuses a lot on the “separately prosecuted” in the proceedings, which have been ongoing since 2021. The central point of this indictment is that Winterkorn is said to have known about the manipulation of the emissions values as early as 2014 and not only in September 2015 as he has previously claimed. The public prosecutor’s office accuses him of “hoping to be able to continue to conceal the guideline values” months before the diesel scandal came to light, just like other VW managers.
He therefore knowingly took the risk of major financial consequences for the VW Group, even though he should have ensured compliance with the legal limits. Winterkorn is said to have received and taken note of relevant notes on the subject several times, but did not stop the marketing of the affected vehicles.
In the spring of 2015, there was a conversation with Friedrich Eichler, then an engineer for drive technology at VW, about the switching logic, in which Winterkorn simply said: “You drive freaks, what have you done now?” Winterkorn again took note of the statements about this, but did not stop the sale of the vehicles and knew that the manipulation was continuing, according to the prosecution.
Later, the switching technology is said to have been explained to him in a presentation, during which he asked no questions, but simply said: “And all because of this software from Jelden.” He is referring to Hanno Jelden, who was then head of drive technology at VW. Apparently, everyone at this meeting agreed to continue to conceal the excessive emissions. Winterkorn only issued the warning: “Be careful when dealing with the authorities.”
Almost 22 million euros bonus
In court, Winterkorn barely reacted to these accusations, which were aimed directly at him. Only when it came to the fact that he “knowingly and willingly” deceived buyers and left them in the dark, for example about the fact that the vehicles were not working properly, did he briefly raise his head and look at the prosecutor.
Winterkorn’s bonus payments depended on the company’s economic success, the public prosecutor’s office stressed. In 2014 and 2015 alone, he received 21,915,200 euros in bonuses. Consumers with manipulated vehicles, on the other hand, had to convert them or suffered a complete loss of value.
“That was quite long, I admit,” Winterkorn said with a laugh after the charges were read out when the judge asked him if he could still take it. “But I’m still ready to take it in.”
The second accusation follows, only a few minutes long, from the Berlin public prosecutor’s office. They accuse Winterkorn of having given false testimony without oath before a parliamentary committee of inquiry in 2017. Giving false testimony without oath means that no oath was sworn, but false testimony was given before an authority authorized to administer oaths – which is also a criminal offense. Winterkorn is said to have said at the time that he only found out in September 2015 that defeat devices had been installed in VW diesels.
When the length of the lunch break is discussed, Winterkorn seems relaxed. His lawyer Felix Dörr tells the press that he denies all accusations. The first accusation has little to do with Winterkorn. It takes a lot of effort to find out what actually concerns him.
Winterkorn wants to comment on Wednesday
The third indictment will be read out in an hour and 45 minutes. It concerns market manipulation. Many aspects and witness statements from the first indictment are repeated. The accusation here is that the software manipulation became public on September 18, 2015 through a communication from US authorities, but VW only issued an ad hoc announcement on September 22, 2015, which listed companies are obliged to issue immediately when it comes to price-relevant information. Winterkorn is said to have failed to meet this obligation in time by delaying the release and thus intentionally failed to inform the capital market about the risks of fines.
According to his lawyer, Winterkorn plans to make a statement on Wednesday, the second day of the trial. A total of 89 trial dates have already been set, up until September 25, 2025. It is quite possible that the proceedings will take longer. If convicted, Winterkorn could face a prison sentence of up to ten years in the worst case scenario.
Source: Stern
