Former Volkswagen works council leader Klaus Volkert and former personnel manager Klaus-Joachim Gebauer were today (22 February) convicted in a German court over their roles in the corruption scandal at Volkswagen.


Volkert was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison, while Gebauer received a one-year suspended sentence.


This was the third trial related to the scandal, and Volkert’s sentence was the heftiest handed down.


Bloomberg News quoted the presiding judge at the regional court in Brunswick as saying: “Volkert knew that he only got these payments because he was a member of the works council. He also knew that the payments were channeled to him outside of the regular ways at Volkswagen.”


Last year, VW’s head of human resources Peter Hartz was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay a fine of EUR2.6m for making payments to Volkert. Hartz avoided a tougher sentence in exchange for full admission and disclosure of all information pertaining to the issue.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The Volkert and Gebauer case saw former VW CEO and current supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piech give testimony. He said that he was unaware of the network of corruption that had prevailed.