Volkswagen boss charged by US authorities

Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has been charged with conspiracy and wire fraud by the US Government as the emissions scandal continues to unravel.

Winterkorn, 70, was indicted in March but the records were only unsealed this week, revealing he has been charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act.

“The indictment unsealed today alleges that Volkswagen’s scheme to cheat its legal requirements went all the way to the top of the company,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. “These are serious allegations, and we will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”

Winterkorn stepped down as CEO in September 2015, in the immediate aftermath of the revelation that Volkswagen had manipulated some of its models to cheat the emissions testing regulations.

If found guilty of the charges against him, Winterkorn faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charges and five years and a $US250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge.

However, it is unclear if he will ever go to trial as the US does not have an extradition agreement with Germany.

The US has charged nine former VW executives with crimes in the wake of the emissions scandal, however only two have plead guilty and are currently serving time in prison. The other six remain in Germany and haven’t faced trial.