A federal grand jury has indicted ex-Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn and five other former company executives on felony charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and violation of the Clean Air Act for their alleged involvement in the diesel car scandal that has engulfed the automaker.
The indictment, unsealed in Detroit, details the plot to fraudulently rig diesel cars in the U.S. to pass emissions tests and then try to keep the information from investigators when it was uncovered in independent tests.
The legal action is the latest development in the scandal that has resulted in indictments of other VW executives and has cost the company more than $20 billion in penalties, recall costs, civil suits and settlements. But until Thursday, the blame had never reached the executive suite.
“The indictment unsealed today alleges that Volkswagen’s scheme to cheat its legal requirements went all the way to the top of the company,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a statement. “These are serious allegations, and we will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”
Winterkorn, 70, CEO of VW from 2007 until shortly after his resignation when the scandal broke in 2015, is alleged to have taken part in the coverup. There was no immediate response from Volkswagen.
The indictment says engineers working under two of the defendants, Jens Hadler, head of the VW brand engine development department, and Richard Dorenkamp, head of VW’s engine development after-treatment department, created a “defeat device.” It was software that would detect when a car was undergoing emissions testing and engage all its anti-pollution devices, then turn them off when the car was being driven on the highway. When they were off, the car spewed far more nitrogen oxides, or NOx, than was approved.
In 2012, six years after the fraud began, the system was explained to two of the other defendants, Heinz-Jakob Neusser, head of development for the VW brand, and Bernd Gottweis, head of the quality and product safety department. They allegedly not only agreed to keep the program a secret, but they destroyed the document explaining how the system worked.
The software was installed in 585,000 Volkswagen, Porsches, Audis between 2009 and 2015, the indictment states.
Winterkorn, who was both CEO and chairman, is alleged to have been told of the discrepancy in a memo that stated “a thorough explanation for the dramatic increase in NOx emissions cannot be given to authorities,” the indictment states. He then allegedly took part in the coverup with other defendants.
The other defendant, Jurgen Peter, who worked in VW’s certification group, was also alleged to have been part of the coverup.
