Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

VW chief 'knew of cheating earlier'

Prosecutors say they have increased the number of suspects in their investigation of Volkswagen to 37.

Martin Winterkorn
German prosecutors say they are investigating former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn for fraud. Source: AAP

Prosecutors in Germany say they have sufficient evidence to indicate that former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn knew of his company's emissions cheating software earlier than he claims.

The 69-year-old stepped down in September 2015, days after news of Volkswagen's use of software to cheat on emissions emerged in the US, saying at the time that he was not aware of any wrongdoing on his part.

Prosecutors in Braunschweig said in a statement on Friday that they have increased the number of suspects in their investigation of VW from 21 to 37.

Winterkorn and others are being investigated on allegations they committed fraud by failing to inform shareholders early enough of the problems the company could face.


1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world