German prosecutors indict current and former Volkswagen managers

[November 12, 2019]   FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German prosecutors on Tuesday filed charges against a current Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE> manager as well as a former manager and two former board members, accusing them of a breach of fiduciary trust in connection with salary awards to works council members.

A new logo of German carmaker Volkswagen is unveiled at the VW headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

Managers responsible for personnel issues at the VW brand stand accused of awarding works council members inflated salaries and bonuses between 2011 and 2016, causing damages worth 5.05 million euros ($5.57 million), the prosecutor's office in Braunschweig said in a statement on Tuesday.

Upon awarding salaries to works council members, members of VW's personnel committee deliberately chose a peer group that would ensure that works council members got higher salaries, the prosecutor's office said.

An amount equivalent to 3.125 million euros was awarded to the works council chief, the prosecutor's office said.

Such awards were to the "disadvantage" of the company, the Braunschweig prosecutor's office said.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Michelle Martin)

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