The Braunschweig court in Germany sentenced two former VW executives to actual prison time on Monday for fraud in the context of the “Dieselgate” case, the scandal involving the manipulation of diesel engine emissions data, which affected 9 million cars sold worldwide, and two others to sentences to be served on probation.
The former head of diesel engine development at VW, Jens Hadler, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, while another senior executive, Hanno Jelden, received a sentence of two years and seven months.
Additionally, a former member of the VW Group board, Heinz-Jakob Neusser, was ultimately sentenced to one year and three months, which was converted to probation. A fourth executive, who was not identified, received a sentence of one year and ten months, also convertible.
The Braunschweig court found it proven that the defendants were aware of the millions of cases of manipulation of diesel engine emissions data.
It should be noted that the “Dieselgate” case was uncovered in 2015 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation, with VW being accused of manipulating the engine control software to allow diesel vehicles to pass emissions tests, while in reality, they emitted much more polluting gases when driven.
The case led to a major crisis for the company, which has since paid more than €33 billion in fines and compensation to vehicle owners.
However, despite the now-known verdict that followed a four-year trial, this is far from the end of the story, as prosecutors continue to try to uncover the extent to which the emissions fraud was known within the company.
