German Prosecutors Investigating VW's Former Chief Winterkorn
A criminal complaint in Germany (that could have been filed by anyone) has prompted an investigation into whether former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn knew the automaker was selling cars with an illegal “defeat device” to fool emissions test, Reuters reported.
Several complaints have been filed with German prosecutors, including one from within Volkswagen, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Winterkorn’s investigation may take months — or even years — as German authorities look into how widespread cheating and lying was at the automaker.
Winterkorn resigned as CEO from Volkswagen last week and said that he had no knowledge that the automaker was designing its diesel cars to cheat through emissions standards.
When his resignation was announced, Volkswagen’s supervisory board said it would hire an outside investigator to research how the company developed its defeat device.
Over the weekend, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that three R&D chiefs at Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche are being forced out because of the growing scandal.
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Richard Milhous Winterkorn. Do I need to say more?
I'm imaging how every German politician from Merkel on down to the lowliest village councilman is rummaging through the archives to see what photo-ops with Winterkorn they participated in.
He said he had no prior knowledge. That's good enough for me.
As much as I suspect he was central to the whole scheme, I will be astounded if the investigation finds any physical proof linking SummerSquash to the device. As a CEO, the line of people begging to be his fall-guy is a mile long and under the table decisions like this can be settled with glances and handshakes.