KNext week Martin Winterkorn will embark on a trip that some lawyers say is the most that can be expected of the 76-year-old ex-manager. From his home in Munich's posh Bogenhausen district, he goes to Braunschweig, where the former Volkswagen boss is scheduled to testify as a witness in the investors' diesel trial. Winterkorn's health is poor. His criminal trial for commercial and gang fraud has not yet begun because he was recovering from three hip operations.
The Higher Regional Court now wants to hear him in the Braunschweig civil case on Wednesday and Thursday, interrupted by many breaks. It's about a lot of money. Investors are demanding around 4.4 billion euros in damages because VW and its major shareholder Porsche SE did not inform the markets in a timely manner about the emissions manipulation.
Lower Saxony's judiciary is not giving up hope of bringing Winterkorn to court as a defendant. Criminal proceedings against him could begin in September, nine years after US authorities revealed that VW had manipulated the measured values for harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx). The Winterkorn case highlights problems in dealing with one of the biggest economic scandals of the post-war period.
The processes are painfully slow
While America reacted quickly, imposing fines and putting those responsible in prison, the processes here are painfully slow. Negotiations took place in the Munich regional court for two years before former Audi boss Rupert Stadler and the public prosecutor agreed on a deal, which they then canceled. Now the case goes to the Federal Court of Justice. In Braunschweig, “NOx proceedings” against dozens of suspects are pending. A verdict is expected in the first trial in the summer. Others may drag on into the next decade.
A lack of personnel in the judiciary, coupled with a subject matter that often only engineers understand: all of this is also slowing down the Braunschweig investor process. The procedure under the Capital Investor Model Procedure Act (KapMuG) had already started in mid-2016. It is intended to explore disputes that can then be considered resolved for thousands of plaintiffs. Documents were floating around for years before Corona brought things to a screeching halt. Afterwards, a hearing of evidence began, in which 86 witnesses are supposed to be present. The questioning often resembles a farce. Because former VW managers like Herbert Diess or Matthias Müller wash their hands of innocence, while the plaintiffs' side around the Tilp law firm lacks incriminating material.
Key figure in the emissions scandal
Winterkorn is the key figure in the emissions scandal. He was the highest paid manager in the republic and was portrayed as a manager who knew every technical detail in the company. During his term in office, all of the decisions that paved the way for the scandal were made, from the growth plan in America and the shutdown device to the cover-up tactics towards US authorities.
Winterkorn sees the blame in the depths of engine development. He himself claims to have only found out about the manipulations in September 2015, shortly before the scandal swept him from office. There were clues that Winterkorn and his managers could have seen if they had looked.
The criminal justice system continues to try to put him on trial. This is urgently needed. Because if his personal responsibility cannot be dealt with in criminal proceedings, this undermines trust in the rule of law. The Braunschweig regional court has just reopened proceedings against him for market manipulation; it is now bundled with the fraud case in a criminal chamber. A medical certificate confirms that Winterkorn should be able to stand trial from autumn onwards. The court wants to decide everything else in the first quarter.
In order to better investigate economic scandals, reforms are necessary. Investigative authorities need more staff and must cooperate better instead of drilling into the same topics in Stuttgart, Munich or Braunschweig. The revision of the KapMuG procedure is also long overdue in order to make the instrument more practical. The introduction of corporate criminal law could also lead to corporations being held more financially responsible for the crimes of their employees. The current structure, as cases like the VW scandal show, offers too many ways to get out of the affair.
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