Due to possibly excessive works council remuneration VW Former works council boss Bernd Osterloh (68) now also has to answer for himself in court. The Braunschweig regional court has opened criminal proceedings against him, a court spokesman confirmed at the request of the German Press Agency. The “Braunschweiger Zeitung” had previously reported on it.
“The main proceedings have been opened by decision of the chamber and the prosecution of the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office has been admitted to the main hearing,” said the spokesman for the regional court. There is therefore another defendant in addition to Osterloh. The public prosecutor’s office accuses them of aiding and abetting the granting of possibly excessive remuneration in three cases. There are currently no dates for the hearing.
Osterloh himself declined to comment. “I will not comment on it,” he said when asked by the DPA news agency.
BGH annuls acquittals
The background is a criminal case that ran until 2021 before the Braunschweig regional court and now has to be reopened. At the time, four VW human resources managers were accused of having granted excessive remuneration to several works council members. It was also about the payment of Osterloh, who received up to 750,000 euros in a year with a high bonus.
The regional court had acquitted the accused at the time, but the verdict was passed in 2023 Federal Court of Justice lifted. The process must now be reopened. There are no dates for this yet, said the court spokesman.
Separate proceedings against Osterloh
Osterloh himself was only heard as a witness in the proceedings at the time. Now the public prosecutor is accusing him of aiding and abetting. The court spokesman said the case against the 68-year-old and his co-accused will now be heard separately. “These are two separate procedures.”
Osterloh headed the powerful VW works council from 2005 to 2021 and then moved to the truck subsidiary as human resources director Traton (MAN, Scania). His previous deputy, Daniela Cavallo (49), took over the management of the Wolfsburg employee representation. Osterloh retired in 2023.