A regional court in Braunschweig, Germany, has convicted four former Volkswagen executives of fraud in connection with the "Dieselgate" emissions scandal, nearly a decade after U.S. authorities first uncovered the automaker's use of illegal defeat devices to cheat emissions tests. Two of the former managers received prison sentences while the others were handed suspended terms, concluding a major trial that began in 2021.
Jens H., Volkswagen's former head of diesel engine development, received the harshest sentence of four years and six months. Hanno J., a former head of drive electronics, was sentenced to two years and seven months. Heinz-Jakob Neusser, the former head of development, was given a suspended sentence of one year and three months. A fourth unnamed defendant received a suspended sentence of one year and ten months. All four convictions are subject to appeal under German law.
The case stems from revelations in 2015 that Volkswagen had installed software in millions of diesel vehicles that enabled them to pass regulatory emissions tests while emitting significantly higher levels of nitrogen oxide during regular driving. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a violation notice in September 2015, triggering a global regulatory and legal backlash.
Volkswagen has since paid more than $33 billion in fines, vehicle buybacks, and compensation to affected customers worldwide. In the United States, two VW executives were sentenced to prison, and the former head of Audi, Rupert Stadler, received a suspended sentence of 21 months and a €1.1 million fine.
The four convicted on Monday were originally scheduled to be tried alongside former CEO Martin Winterkorn, who stepped down in 2015 and has denied wrongdoing. Proceedings against Winterkorn were suspended due to health issues and have yet to be rescheduled.
In 2019, German prosecutors charged Winterkorn, then-CEO Herbert Diess, and board chair Hans Dieter Pötsch with market manipulation. Diess and Pötsch avoided trial after Volkswagen paid a €9 million settlement in 2020. Winterkorn remains under investigation and has been accused in separate civil and criminal cases related to the scandal.
Volkswagen said in a statement that the Braunschweig proceedings involved individuals and would have "no significant consequences for the cases before the civil courts that Volkswagen is involved in." Prosecutors in Germany continue to pursue cases against at least 31 additional individuals tied to the emissions deception.
