Frankfurt (AFP)

Daimler and Volkswagen were caught on Tuesday by the German courts in two proceedings related to "dieselgate". If the manufacturer of the Mercedes gets out at this point with a fine, Volkswagen sees three leaders returned to justice.

The prosecutor's office in Braunschweig has asked the judge of the German car manufacturer Herbert Diess, his chairman of the supervisory board, Hans Dieter Pötsch, and the former chairman to refer him to a judge for "manipulation of stock market prices". from the executive board of the group, Martin Winterkorn.

According to the 636-page indictment, Mr Winterkorn was aware "at the latest since May 2015", Mr Pötsch, then his financial director "since 29 June 2015" and Mr Diess in charge of the mark Volkswagen "since July 27, 2015" of the said manipulation and its possible consequences.

But the first communication came only in September, when Martin Winterkorn had recognized the handling of diesel vehicles in the United States and around the world in order to display pollutant emission levels lower than reality and standards. admitted.

- Contagion-

All three are indicted for "knowingly" informed "too late" the financial markets of the financial consequences of the scandal counting "in billions", and thus "influenced the stock market" of VW, said the floor in a statement.

These revelations led to a tumble in the Volkswagen share price with huge losses for thousands of small and large shareholders of the builder, who at the same time filed a lawsuit.

In all, 11 million faked vehicles have found themselves on the market, and the scandal has become global ... and contagious for other German manufacturers, such as Daimler and BMW suspected of similar practices.

Winterkorn's defense lawyers said they were "surprised" Tuesday by the decision of the prosecutor of Brunswick to request the return of their client to justice, speaking of an act "incomprehensible".

As for Mr Diess, still at the helm of the German industrial flagship, he said in September during an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the Frankfurt Motor Show that it was "out of the question" for him to resign if returned to a judge.

In all likelihood, the Brunswick court will now validate the trial, which will not be the only one in the "dieselgate".

Martin Winterkorn is already preparing since April for another trial and this time on the heart of the case. He is indicted for "aggravated fraud", "breach of trust" and "violation of the law against unfair competition", along with four other defendants.

The "dieselgate" has already cost the Wolfsburg group more than 30 billion euros in fines, legal fees and customer compensation to the company.

-870 million euros -

If Volkswagen is already in breach of fines and court proceedings, Daimler faces his first sanction in Germany.

In a coincidence of judicial timetable, and only hours after the decision on Volkswagen, Daimler was fined on Tuesday by the prosecutor of Stuttgart a 870 million euros.

The public prosecutor's office has established a "negligent violation" in the Daimler AG service responsible for certifications which "resulted in the approval of diesel vehicles by the authorities, although their emissions of nitrogen oxides sometimes did not comply with regulatory requirements".

Daimler, who has always shouted his innocence, announced he would accept the penalty and said he would not appeal the fine.

However, he continues to reject the conclusions of the German Automobile Agency (KBA), which has been demanding for the last two years the recall of 700,000 rigged vehicles around the world.

For Volkswagen's competitor, the administrative procedure for infringement is therefore closed.

But there are still criminal investigations against four of its leaders, who are still in progress.

© 2019 AFP