MUNICH -- Former Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn could face trial in Germany next year on fraud charges connected with the automaker's diesel-rigging scandal, German media reports said.
The prosecutors' office in Brunswick in VW's home of Lower Saxony said on Monday that they were pressing criminal charges for fraud and violation of competition law against Winterkorn and four other executives.
Prosecutors said Winterkorn was accused of a particularly serious case of fraud because he failed to disclose the emissions-cheating to the responsible authorities in Europe and the U.S. after it became clear in 2014 that VW had been manipulating engine management software to cheat U.S. tests for harmful NOx emissions.
Prosecutors told the DPA news agency on Tuesday that the prosecutors' indictment is now being "thoroughly examined." If a judge decides the case should go to trial, this will happen in 2020 at the earliest because of the volume of documents, the spokesman said.
The indictment comprises 300 files with about 75,000 pages
Winterkorn, 71 faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. He could also face legal action from Volkswagen for damages if found guilty.
U.S. prosecutors have already filed criminal charges against Winterkorn, accusing him of conspiring to cover up the automaker's diesel-emissions cheating.
The German newspaper Handelsblatt named the four other executives facing charges in Germany as Hans-Jacob Neusser, VW's former head of engine development; Jens Hadler, former director of powertrain development; Hanno Jelden, who led engine electronics; and Thorsten D. Neussers, a department head.
Neusser and Hadler have also been indicted by U.S. authorities.
