'Dieselgate' trial of ex-VW boss Winterkorn suspended until 2025

The criminal trial of former Volkswagen Group chief executive Martin Winterkorn for his alleged role in the diesel emissions scandal has been suspended after the 77-year-old defendant suffered a fall.

The trial will not resume until 2025 at the earliest, the court ruled on Tuesday after considering a medical report on Winterkorn's condition.

Winterkorn's health issues have led to repeated delays in the case, and the trial only began in early September, nine years after the incident engulfed the German automaker and led to his resignation.

Winterkorn was hospitalized after the fall, and the medical report indicated that he "will not be able to attend court hearings for at least the next few months," according to the court.

Volkswagen was rocked by the diesel emissions scandal - widely known as "Dieselgate" - in 2015 after US regulators discovered that VW-produced engines had been outfitted with software intentionally designed to manipulate the results of environmental emissions tests.

Once the highest-paid executive in Germany, Winterkorn has been dogged by investigations into the scandal and currently faces charges of commercial fraud, market manipulation and making false statements.

Prosecutors allege that Winterkorn deceived VW buyers about the quality of the cars and, in the crucial days of September 2015, deliberately failed to inform public investors in good time about the risks of fines and penalties faced by Volkswagen.

In 2017, he allegedly gave false testimony to a German parliamentary committee investigating the scandal.

He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or direct responsibility for the scandal, including in testimony earlier this year in a civil case brought by shareholders.

"Our client firmly rejects the accusations levelled against him," Winterkorn's attorney, Felix Dürr, said at the start of the trial.