Four former Volkswagen executives have been found guilty of fraud in a criminal trial relating to the "Dieselgate" scandal. https://p.dw.com/p/4uuCl Volkswagen logo and red light in Wolfsburg on February 5, 2025 The scandal surrounds the manipulation of diesel car emissions tests Image: Moritz Frankenberg/dpa/picture alliance ADVERTISEMENT The Braunschweig Regional Court in northern Germany on Monday convicted four former Volkswagen executives of fraud over the "Dieselgate" scandal. The verdict brings a massive trial to an end after almost four years. The scandal surrounding the manipulation of diesel car emissions tests came to light in September 2015. The Wolfsburg-based automaker had shortly before admitted to false test results in the US. Prison time for Volkswagen executives Two of the executives were sentenced to several years in prison, with two other former employees receiving suspended sentences. A former head of diesel engine development was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. The former head of drive electronics received two years and seven months in prison. The highest-ranking defendant, a former member of the Volkswagen brand's development board, received one year and three months' probation. A former department head was sentenced to one year and ten months' probation. The global scandal, widely known as Dieselgate, plunged the Wolfsburg-based carmaker into a deep crisis. Volkswagen has faced countless lawsuits and estimated the total cost of the scandal at more than €30 billion ($34 billion). The public prosecutor's office had demanded between two and four years in prison and considered probation appropriate in only one case. The defense, however, pleaded for three acquittals and one warning. Proceedings against former CEO unclear Former chief executive Martin Winterkorn was originally due to stand trial alongside the four, but proceedings against him were suspended for health reasons before they began in September 2021. Winterkorn has since appeared in court as both a witness and a defendant, repeatedly denying any responsibility for the scandal.