The fugitive living in a Munich villa

Photo by Studio Pizza on Unsplash

Dear Reader,

A fugitive urgently sought by US authorities is living in a leafy villa on the outskirts of a major city. His life is quiet and undisturbed, and he continues to enjoy the spoils of the wealth he accumulated by defrauding hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. The US issued a “red notice” via Interpol years ago, but this old man, now approaching the age of 80, need not fear that he will ever face his day in court.

The city where he lives his discreet life is not Moscow or St Petersburg. It’s not even Dubai.

Martin Winterkorn, the former CEO of Volkswagen, is living out his retirement in one of Munich’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, largely unbothered by the law.

German authorities have ignored the request for arrest for Winterkorn and five other VW managers, all implicated in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to defraud American consumers. Because all the conspirators are German nationals, none of them will ever be extradited.

Back in 2018, US prosecutors charged Winterkorn with five counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and commit wire fraud. Under his supervision, VW engineers developed an engine for the US market that they sold as “green diesel.” In fact, the cars polluted at up to 35 times the legal limit, but were equipped with software designed to detect emissions tests and switch into low-emissions mode for the duration of the test.

The indictment against Winterkorn paints a picture of a company driven by greed and deception.

When VW decided to conquer the US market in 2006, engineers were tasked with developing a diesel engine that met America’s strict NOx emissions standards. The team soon realised they couldn’t develop a car that was both clean and affordable, yet they were instructed to find another way. That’s when they created the “defeat device,” a clever bit of code that detected when a car was undergoing laboratory testing and altered its performance accordingly.

Despite internal objections, management ordered the team to install the software. When it went to market, VW had the gall to target environmentally conscious consumers. A marketing vehicle was painted with green vines, and a promotional website was launched under the cheerful name GoodCleanDieselFun.com.