The pressure of the judiciary on the former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn is growing.
On Monday, the regional court in Braunschweig announced that it would allow the Berlin public prosecutor's office to indict Winterkorn for making false statements.
In early summer, the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office brought charges against Winterkorn.
Carsten Germis
Business correspondent in Hamburg.
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Winterkorn is accused of having testified wrongly before the investigative committee of the Bundestag committee on the exhaust gas manipulation in January 2017 in diesel cars from VW. He had said before the committee that he had only learned about defeat devices in diesel vehicles from VW in September 2015. According to the prosecutors, Winterkorn should have been informed about the exhaust gas manipulation in May 2015.
The Regional Court of Braunschweig announced that it wanted to hear this new charge together with the indictment of gang fraud and other criminal offenses against Winterkorn (reference number: 6 KLs 23/19). In the so-called NOX case, Winterkorn and four co-defendants, including the former VW development director Heinz-Jakob Neußer, will have to answer before a commercial criminal chamber in Braunschweig from September 16.
Since Winterkorn has to undergo a hip operation on Thursday, which in the medical opinion cannot be postponed, the court announced at the end of August that it was considering separating the proceedings against Winterkorn. A decision as to whether the proceedings against Winterkorn will be separated and the trial against the other defendants will begin as planned or whether the entire trial will be postponed again and until 2022 is not expected before Friday.