After the trial dates were canceled this week in the criminal case against former VW boss Martin Winterkorn for health reasons, the court ordered a medical report. This should clarify the “question of the defendant’s ability to travel and stand trial” in the diesel scandal proceedings, the Braunschweig Regional Court explained on Wednesday. The result is “expected within the next week.” The court declared on Monday that it would cancel the appointments for Wednesday and Thursday after it had been informed of an “accident” by Winterkorn “in the domestic environment”. Accordingly, the 77-year-old was in hospital treatment as a result of the accident. The court did not provide any further information about Winterkorn’s state of health. By ordering the medical report, the court also set a continuation date for next Wednesday. Depending on the outcome of the report, this will then remain “either maintained or it will be revoked – possibly at short notice,” it said. The trial against Winterkorn in the diesel scandal began at the beginning of September. The trial was originally scheduled to begin in February 2021, but Winterkorn postponed it for health reasons. In connection with the scandal, the then Volkswagen boss is accused of commercial and gang fraud, unsworn false statements and market manipulation. More on the subject Winterkorn was VW boss from 2007 to 2015 and resigned in the wake of the emissions scandal. After investigations by US authorities, the company had to admit that it had installed an illegal defeat device in millions of diesel vehicles worldwide. The limit values for nitrogen oxide were met on the test bench, but not in real operation on the road. The vehicles should not have been registered. If found guilty, Winterkorn could face several years in prison. However, he denies having known about the use of the fraud software before it became public knowledge.
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