German court halts criminal proceedings against former Volkswagen CEO

A German court in Braunschweig, Germany, said on Friday it had stopped criminal proceedings against former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn for alleged market manipulation as part of the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal.

The court said it had decided to stop the proceedings as the expected sentence in another case, in which Winterkorn faces charges for his alleged contribution in permitting diesel cars with excessive pollution levels to hit the road, was higher.

“In this context, the conviction for market manipulation would not lead to a significant increase in the overall sentence,” the court said in a statement.

The court opened proceedings in September examining if Winterkorn was guilty of failing to tell investors adequately regarding the extent of the emissions fraud.

Winterkorn resigned from Volkswagen on 23 September 2015 as CEO after the automaker confessed to having used defeat device in American diesel cars.