Eight more Volkswagen workers charged in diesel scandal

German prosecutors said on Wednesday they had charged another eight employees of Volkswagen over the diesel emissions scandal.

The eight are alleged of fraud, false certification, and breach of the law against unfair competition, the prosecutor’s office in the northern town of Braunschweig said.

Some are also held for being responsible over embezzlement and tax evasion, or for aiding and abetting those offenses.

Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to having used illegal defeat device to cheat U.S. pollution tests, causing a global backlash against diesel and costing the automaker billions of euros in fines.

The eight are accused of being associated with the diesel manipulation between November 2006 and September 2015.

They are alleged of encouraging, supporting, or at least not preventing the installation of illegal software in the engine management system of diesel vehicles produced by the automaker despite knowing it was not legal.

The same charges were already brought against six other automakers’ managers previously this year, while former Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn and four other managers were charged in relation with the scandal last year.

The first trial in the Volkswagen case in Germany starts next week – that of former Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler.