Diesel scandal: VW trials demonstrate accountability of managers
Ten years after the revelations of the emissions scandal, several fraud trials against former VW managers are running in parallel in Brunswick. So far, four leading figures have been found guilty, with further proceedings planned until 2028.
Diesel scandal: justice pursues VW managers through multiple trials
Ten years after the revelation of the VW diesel scandal in September 2015, Brunswick's courts are still working through the criminal responsibility of individual managers. According to tagesspiegel.de, several fraud trials are currently under way, while Europe's largest car manufacturer cannot escape public scrutiny.
The scandal had global dimensions: US authorities established that Volkswagen had equipped diesel vehicles with manipulated software. This recognised test situations and artificially reduced nitrogen oxide emissions, but in everyday operation the values remained significantly higher. Several million vehicles were affected worldwide. In the US, VW paid over 20 billion dollars in fines and compensation; Germany also imposed fines in the billions.
The first major trial began in September 2021. After almost four years of hearings, Brunswick's regional court found four former VW executives guilty of fraud in spring 2025 — two received sentences of several years' imprisonment, two others received suspended sentences. The verdict is not final; appeals have been filed.
The trial against former chief executive Martin Winterkorn began in September 2024 but was interrupted after only a few days of hearings following Winterkorn's accident. It was provisionally discontinued due to his incapacity to stand trial. Winterkorn had denied any responsibility.
Two further fraud trials are currently running, which began in November 2025 and April 2026 respectively. A fourth trial was supposed to start in autumn 2025 — but could not begin as planned because one of the three defendants was absent for health reasons. The presiding judge rejected the excuse; a new start date is pending. Of the originally eleven suspects in this proceeding, investigations against eight were discontinued according to the prosecution, subject to financial settlements, including a former chief of Volkswagen Group of America, who paid €48,500.
A fifth — and probably final — trial begins on 24 November in Brunswick against seven former executives and employees. For this proceeding as well as the fourth, 150 hearing days are scheduled until the end of 2028. In total, ten defendants will thus face court in the two upcoming trials.
The defendants are accused, among other things, of co-developing the illegal defeat device or failing to take action against its further development. A significant aspect: one of the defendants is additionally accused of perjury in an earlier trial. According to Brunswick's prosecution office, there are now 34 such proceedings against the same number of suspects.
Although the allegations concern acts from the period between November 2006 and September 2015, prison sentences are possible. Volkswagen has stated for years that it is not party to the criminal proceedings.
Helena Beron Wisbert, professor of automotive industry at Ostfalia University Wolfsburg, sees significance beyond the individual defendants: "The criminal proceedings bring the diesel scandal topic back into public awareness and thereby have a certain signalling effect for building robust compliance and control structures." The proceedings demonstrate how individual executives in a corporation's complex decision-making processes can be held accountable.
In the current transformation of the automotive industry, which requires rapid technological advances and is under severe cost and margin pressure, the importance of functioning and legally controllable decision-making processes in car manufacturers will become even greater.
Source: Die Zeit Kriminalität