Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess will continue in his role despite charges filed Tuesday by German officials in connection with Dieselgate, according to multiple reports.
Prosecutors in the German city of Braunschweig charged Diess alongside Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch and former CEO Martin Winterkorn with market manipulation, claiming that the executives deliberately delayed informing markets of the financial fallout related to the emissions scandal, The Associated Press reported early Tuesday.
According to the prosecutors, Winterkorn knew of the brewing scandal as early as May, 2015. Poetsch was in the loop as of June 29; Diess knew by July 27. The markets were not made aware until U.S. federal and state regulators accused VW of employing emissions defeat devices in August of that same year.
VW's board met Tuesday morning to discuss the charges, and decided that Diess would remain CEO during the legal proceedings, Reuters reports.
Group brand executives have been targeted by officials around the globe for the roles in the scandal.
In April, Winterkorn and four other managers were charged with fraud by German officials. Late in 2018, former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler served four months in a German prison over concerns that he might suppress evidence regarding Audi's role in the scandal. He was fired in October of last year.
In January, the U.S. Justice Department handed down indictments to former Audi bosses Richard Bauder, Axel Eiser, Stefan Knirsch and Carsten Nagel over their role in the scandal. All four were involved in engine development.