German prosecutors have been forced into a U-turn in their investigation of former Volkswagen AG chief executive officer Martin Winterkorn after they may have been too quick to name the official as the focus of a probe, a media report said.
According to Bloomberg, the the Lower Saxony prosecutor’s office issued a fresh statement saying it was investigating accusations of fraud at VW, and removed a statement from earlier in the week. The latest statement said that must be "concrete facts" before a probe into Winterkorn is opened.
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The news agency noted the apparent slip-up showed the pressure German prosecutors are under to get to the bottom of who ultimately ordered the creation of software that allowed some Audi and Volkswagen diesel cars to cheat US emissions tests for years. The initial probe against Winterkorn came after Volkswagen and others filed complaints calling for a criminal investigation into whether fraudulent measures were taken to sell cars that didn’t meet emissions standards.
It was "too early" to name Winterkorn, Christoph Schalast, a professor at the Frankfurt School of Finance, told Bloomberg. "An initial suspicion must be based on facts, and you must begin an investigation before you can establish the facts. It seemed "Winterkorn had been prejudged," he said.
"Given the importance of VW in Germany, the prosecutor may have been warned to be careful," Norbert Gatzweiler, a Cologne-based lawyer whose firm is not involved in the case, told Blomberg. "Fundamentally, I think his decision was right to do so and such moderation would be wise."
