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20 May 2020The German court has closed, against a payment of 9 million euros, the procedure for manipulation of the financial markets, linked to the "dieselgate", against the director of Volkswagen Herbert Diess and the chairman of the supervisory board, Hans Dieter Potsch, the German house has announced.

"The supervisory board welcomes the end of the proceedings" against the two top managers of the Volkswagen group, who had been on trial since September 2019 for the diesel engine rigged emissions scandal, a spokesman said. The group agreed to take charge of the payment because it did not identify any "breach of corporate obligations" by Diess or Potsch. 

"The company's legal advisors and representatives are of the opinion that the allegations against Potsch Diess are unfounded," said the group. "It is in the interest of the group to end these proceedings," added the spokesman. In late September, the prosecutor's office accused the two executives of "manipulating the share price", along with former boss Martin Winterkorn, already accused of "aggravated fraud". The deal does not cover the former CEO, whose lawyers did not respond immediately. Potsch is still under investigation by the Stuttgart prosecutor for market manipulation. Former head of the Audi brand, Rupert Stadler, is also awaiting trial.  

The scandal erupted in September 2015 when, after accusations from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Volkswagen admitted to having equipped 11 million vehicles with software that could make them appear less polluting in laboratory tests. than on the road. The stock market price plummeted in a few days. Herbert Diess, the group's current CEO, was director of the VW brand at the time. Potsch was the chief financial officer of the group under Winterkorn.

The "dieselgate" has already cost the German manufacturer more than 30 billion euros, and the company has been trying to improve its image with electric cars since then. Most of this sum - legal fees, fines and compensation - has so far been paid in the United States, particularly to generously compensate customers for the collection of their vehicles. In Germany, the producer paid three fines for a total of 2.3 billion euros. Another judicial aspect of the scandal was closed in late April: under an out-of-court settlement, Volkswagen will pay at least € 750 million to repay 235,000 customers in an unprecedented trial in Germany, similar to an American class action. Investors are still demanding compensation in a class action that started in September 2018 and is expected to last several months.