Photo: Porsche
Everyone knows about the scandal that shocked the automotive world in 2008, when two executives from Porsche lied about their real intentions to acquire full control of VW through a series of options. Now, eight years later, ex-CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and former CFO Holgar Haerter might get away with it because a German judge doesn’t understand prosecutors’ latest claim.
The explanation from Presiding Judge Frank Maurer in Stuttgart comes after a series of complications in this particular case, including some witnesses who failed to back up prosecutors’ claims on a number of occasions, forcing them to rethink their theory.
After the bold move the two ex-Porsche executives tried to pull eight years ago, the situation backfired spectacularly when first sellers drove up the price of Volkswagen shares as they scrambled to cover their position and, right after, the funding stopped in the middle of the financial crisis.
On October 26, 2008, Porsche disclosed its plans to acquire Volkswagen and issued a press release to brag about it. In December 2015, prosecutors changed their arguments about this release, because initially they stated that Porsche was trying to protect itself from bankruptcy with an attempt to push up VW’s shares. Now, they believe the Stuttgart-based company used the statement to drive the stocks down for its partner Maple Bank to avoid regulatory risks from the deal.
According to Maurer, “The claims by the prosecution about what risks Maple faced at that time aren’t comprehensible given that an outside review in 2009 showed the bank was never in trouble over these risks.” “I simply don’t get it,” he concluded.
Witnesses also questioned the theory that Porsche was under financial pressure back in 2008 and issued the release even though it didn’t have the money to buy VW, as Bloomberg states.
In the end, the bid fell apart, and Volkswagen ended up buying the sports-car maker, while the company that retained the Porsche name and its former executives have faced legal suits, regulatory and criminal investigations since then.
Maurer also declared that Porsche’s Chairman, Wolfgang Porsche, can refuse to appear as a witness and urged the prosecutors to agree with this.
After the bold move the two ex-Porsche executives tried to pull eight years ago, the situation backfired spectacularly when first sellers drove up the price of Volkswagen shares as they scrambled to cover their position and, right after, the funding stopped in the middle of the financial crisis.
On October 26, 2008, Porsche disclosed its plans to acquire Volkswagen and issued a press release to brag about it. In December 2015, prosecutors changed their arguments about this release, because initially they stated that Porsche was trying to protect itself from bankruptcy with an attempt to push up VW’s shares. Now, they believe the Stuttgart-based company used the statement to drive the stocks down for its partner Maple Bank to avoid regulatory risks from the deal.
According to Maurer, “The claims by the prosecution about what risks Maple faced at that time aren’t comprehensible given that an outside review in 2009 showed the bank was never in trouble over these risks.” “I simply don’t get it,” he concluded.
Witnesses also questioned the theory that Porsche was under financial pressure back in 2008 and issued the release even though it didn’t have the money to buy VW, as Bloomberg states.
In the end, the bid fell apart, and Volkswagen ended up buying the sports-car maker, while the company that retained the Porsche name and its former executives have faced legal suits, regulatory and criminal investigations since then.
Maurer also declared that Porsche’s Chairman, Wolfgang Porsche, can refuse to appear as a witness and urged the prosecutors to agree with this.
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