VOW3 Volkswagen AG

By William Boston 

BERLIN -- A German court on Wednesday ordered former Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn to stand trial on charges of fraud and tax evasion in connection with the auto maker's rigging of millions of diesel-powered vehicles to cheat emissions tests.

Mr. Winterkorn couldn't be reached for comment. His attorney wasn't immediately available for comment.

Mr. Winterkorn was forced to step down as CEO in September 2015, days after U.S. authorities charged the company with committing massive fraud. Mr. Winterkorn said at the time that he was unaware of the illegal software.

The court in Braunschweig, near Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg, said it would allow the case to go to trial, citing a "probability of conviction" based on the evidence presented.

The charges are levied against five individuals including Mr. Winterkorn, who was CEO during the years that Volkswagen installed illegal software to suppress toxic emissions during routine testing on around 11 million vehicles world-wide.

All criminal investigations against Volkswagen as a corporation have been settled in Germany and the U.S.

Volkswagen pleaded guilty to defrauding the U.S. government and U.S. consumers in 2016. The company has paid more than $30 billion in fines, penalties, and other charges related to the diesel affair.

Write to William Boston at william.boston@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 09, 2020 08:49 ET (12:49 GMT)

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