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A German regional court on Monday convicted four former Volkswagen executives of fraud in connection with the long-running Dieselgate emissions scandal.

The court sentenced two of the former executives to prison for several years, while the remaining two received suspended sentences. The ruling concludes a major trial that spanned nearly four years.

The scandal known as Dieselgate first came to light in September 2015, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discovered that many diesel vehicles produced by German carmaker Volkswagen were equipped with illegal so-called defeat devices.

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[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 55 points 1 year ago

I am utterly shocked at this semblance of accountability.

[-] BreakerSwitch@lemm.ee 16 points 1 year ago

So jealous. So very, very jealous. "If a poor man steals, it is so he may eat. If a rich man steals, it feeds only his greed. Which, then, is the greater crime?" Should be a consideration in legal systems, on top of the whole "the rich do damage in the billions, the poor do damage in single digits" thing.

[-] haui_lemmy@lemmy.giftedmc.com 9 points 1 year ago

Exactly my thought.

[-] makyo@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Virtually unprecedented in the USA in modern times anyway

[-] N0t_5ure@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

If this were the U.S., Trump would pardon them. However, lets be real. If this were the U.S., they never would have been put on trial in the first instance.

[-] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Ironically, the US EPA are the ones who discovered the problem.

[-] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

During Trump's first term no less.

[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 2 points 1 year ago

Really? 'Cuz there's two Audi execs in prison over this in the US right now.

[-] N0t_5ure@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Were they prosecuted during the current administration?

[-] Buelldozer@lemmy.today 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Trump's 1st term.

[-] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

several years

Wat? Do they not know how many?

this post was submitted on 26 May 2025
128 points (100.0% liked)

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