cake that's weighing 700 kilograms, has been offered at a shrine in till g perfect or north of tokyo. it's an annual tradition marked by prayers for a good harvest. the rice cake will remain on display until january 20th, and broken up and given to visitors. to watching dw news stick around, we've got the very towel, the, steven beardsley up next with dw business. i don't want to miss that lot more news for you. i'm william, go craft. that's all for me. thanks very much. take care. see you soon. take your time. for an experiment about time, it can be measured precisely, and yet each person experiences it differently as if there are different forms of

time with the dimension and illusion. about time stories december 31st on d, w. mm hm. what it says i was sentenced to 7 years in jail out and had to pay a $400000.00 fine. hold on. that's fine. that's what this scandal costs me personally. you requested me about and i was assured that there was nothing illegally now causes of eldest simba, but took globe nobody back then was thinking, fraud law that it was a breach of the engineer's code and your newest, you didn't a call up johnwooten went into corn cold me, i told him we'd been cheating, and that the cars had test detection software, and vin to corn must himself have been wondering how much he knew. and am on september retained that was on the new,

the social. whose idea was it the when and who covered it up and via the who knew? and at what point, one of us got us like a whole the diesel emissions scandal known as germany's largest industrial scandal with victims running into the millions of customers. but who exactly was behind the fraud v w, then c, e o martin ventercore on his manages and engineers years later, they are now finally going on trial. this is the 1st time that some of those involved have talked to the media about culpability innocence and ignorance. and what happens when nobody is accountable?

this is a long story, was many chapters at its center is a secret, a trade secret kept quiet for 10 long years until the news broke in september 2015 . the u. s. environmental protection agency served a notice of violation alleging that v. w had manipulated emissions test results. this is a difficult masser challenge for volkswagen. i suspect they're in crisis mode. and if you want an auto sewing mit their money, putting it in for the software they've 5 of dinged arsenalt of exam doesn't apply to him. brooklyn the showroom floor of the room. but 2nd, this is jordan oliver from trish c o martin ventercore accepted responsibility for the scandal. you should shortly give me an honor form. only quinton, for the broken leg is something from the stroke for the field of hope and apology. unable to save the job of germany's best paid executive martin winter concord,

i was forced on trip on for oxford talk. before events had even been properly investigated. the v. w supervisory board absolved winter coin of any blame the void of ours vocal fist houses that have in the con, kona kent, this hector, from the more money pool at soon full of grass we approved at the same time v. w was similarly swift to blame others, claiming that a small group of engineers was responsible assess whether you filed them for an infrequent taking a gun in the middle and figuring her from spartan avery, social, with the management insisted they'd been completely in the dark. who knew what to when will now be told in court for the 1st time. will those responsible continue to shift the blame to each other but to dish like its own

human to try and delegate responsibility for criminal action to the part you have to work with that and see what emerges in court off and whether the story is ultimately credible and believable to be done or not, or so. so for some claim to date issued repeated warnings, while others denied ever having heard about the scamp. we gained access to internal documents and interviews and were able to talk to some of the 100 or so people linked to the scandal. we then had 3 actors read what these individuals told us. one for executives. and 2 actors representing engineers are so says, wish to remain anonymous, but at the same time, tell us their stories. as a man, what you, what you will is let's at least what is my motivation? is that after doing so much wrong in the past 3, o 2, at least for the people who ask themselves who these awful people are on this,

i want to explain this as to how astonishingly easy it is to get into something so bad to mock up the order that i had forgotten before i closed my eyes, are we victims or perpetrators? we don't know how to ship because neither just give who i knew, but i didn't prevent it. and i'm still mad with myself. absolutely. law eric michelle. jennifer, one of the people involved offered to talk to us on camera. oliver schmidt, he became the public face of the scandal. his u. s. police mugshot went around the world. well, not often. you see an auto executive arrested. breaking up tonight, major development in the volkswagen emission scandal, the new york times reports v w executive oliver schmidt was arrested this weekend, a trip to the u. s. by oliver schmidt allowed f b. i. agents to intercept him saturday at miami airport haps love miss. so to let

her soft, he kept the lockers off, i made it to the restroom or down. i was able to pull my pants up if the i bought and then 5 f, b i, agents, and 3, airport police storm the toilet. when in vessel had was i was put in a cell because given prison clothing on when as lives or it would have been all, i was booked at exactly 2 o'clock when the news was on new fans. the story was my arrest progress. while i had mine of her big welcome to the cell block or said it isn't, it isn't st huckabee spotwood oliver schmidt pleaded guilty and spent 3 years in a prison in the u. s. in 2020, he was transferred to a prison in germany. this is the 1st time he's talked on camera about his involvement in the emissions scandal. he had good connections with us, environmental alsera teeth being economical with the truce,

cost him everything. line ashley, discuss, i'm thought. and if my crime was flying to the us and talking to bureaucrats in good eat, it is how i spoke with them in a way i shouldn't have deleted him as needed. i didn't tell them everything i knew lesion happiness, alaska zak was. he forced an emission that landed schmidt in prison, but who else was accountable in the end? every one claims that innocence, which is exactly how the story began. years ago, v w executives wanted to expand in the u. s. and devised a plan. they called it to you, s o 7 clean diesel. the executives wanted to take over the u. s. market and eventually become the world's number one call maker. this was in 2005. the call maker began working on

a clean and economical diesel engine to win over new drivers in the u. s. called the e. j 189. it was designed to conform to the strict to pollution standards in the u . s. small remaining relatively cheap. the engineering involved, however, was beset with problems from the outset. for that is to as well joe gobble. sheila declared exact um, reduce plenty of engineers said it would be too difficult to meet the u. s. 07 standards with the 1st engine always but, and they were ashamed but didn't know how to make their project happen. this leafy with the shop though, but the pressure was on the e a 189 was sated to be ready for mass production within 2 years. as opposed to the 4 or 5 normally. doug keeps done it bizarre. then there are the ones who like to up sell for cough. i will manage it. i'm going to meet those standards with my fantastic engine. these glance will to a foot that was one of the key mistakes or another time true,

was models or the technical reality. the engineers were not even close to reaching their targets and the required emissions levels. there was growing consternation until one of the engineers told his colleagues about an interesting software software that could detect when the cars were undergoing emissions tests. test cycles are always based on 3 factors, acceleration, speed, and time. the software could detect the parameters and then reduce the nitrogen oxide output said that the car's passed to us emissions standards during physical tests with inspectors. but back on the road, the cars emitted a much greater amounts of nitrogen oxide. the engines

develop has insist they never saw, that would break laws or cassandra to stick and uncles for all did was test detection was no question to say we wanted to detect when the car was on a test rate. and when it wasn't on these a test, a lot of people found this test detection a tad unethical, or lately garner. but i didn't know whether it was illegal or not, because i hadn't read the emissions legislation either. it's gibbon is julie. according to the engineer's every step and every decision was approved by the relevant superior, which gave the team a feeling of security other zips in for yards weitel in the spring of 2016, i still couldn't believe at least in what am i the world i always thought i hadn't done anything wrong, it's young's was this. the hor, i've forwarded whatever i had done and found strained by the to the bosses discolored. hover. the result was a tendency to say it's, it's not that bad. every one does it, and we'll just carry on when to be

a man of either bestowed one. but the story told by the executives who supposedly gave the go ahead is a very different one. from his answers or having the 1st i even heard of this issue was in 2015 us human. that if someone had told me 3 years earlier that we were cheating and breaking the law by using tricks, i would have taken them to task and demanded an explanation that the cyclone was one person's word against another's. did the engineers actually warn their bosses and did those buses really no nothing . this is where everyone gets to tell their side of the story. lounge like the civic center in the same german state as v w. headquarters has been re purpose to the courtroom. prosecutors have been preparing their case for 6 years. the 1st trials are now underway. the defendants face charges including organized commercial

fraud and tax evasion, good unclogged toolshed of an oyster for the under clock and puzzle. r. indictment assumes the defendants worked as an inner circle and knew everything was lower, and that there was large scale cheating from the outside designed to consolidate and, and expand v w's diesel car market. shares are marked anti lock. not all spawns, old allotted is lung it. among the 1st defendants 2 high ranking engineers identified under german confidentiality laws only as hannah, j, and toast and d. they claim they repeatedly warned their superiors. also in the dark 2 former managers, hence h and hines. jak nicer who insist they had no knowledge of the manipulation senior criminal activity over a 10 year period cuz we have a huge number of witnesses and other evidence, in other words altogether. and it really is a trial of a different dimension linked martin ventercore is the highest profile defendant

that has for now been exempted from the hearings while recovering from hip surgery . with this supposedly small group of reckless engineers since mushrooming into an army of accused lounge fy can look forward to a long series of additional trials. in total, prosecutors have been investigating around $100.00 individuals b for this book, which pharmacy vices, nish, wonderful 20th all scream. when i don't know how many it really was stuck on 1st mom. and i wouldn't just look at ventre corridor, but possibly what did people the next level down know beyond and who issued the instructions to take who covered up and who knew what and when people i have this bio with about 50 witness statements covering all areas does faithfully from your regular engineer up to the departmental heads corpus to their statements were all about trying to save their own skin hutsel at night.

mm. this is a tale with a variety of truths for every episode, including a meeting in november, 2006. that said to be the genesis of the emissions fraud. it was the 1st of 3 key situations in which v w staff had the choice of voicing in favor or against the deception. the engineers made a presentation for the then head of engine development, showing how the e, a 189 could pass the straight to u. s. emissions tests. the software developers provided a detailed description of the cheat feature, assuming their bus would then ban its deployment. they claim one of them would later testify. i was clear about our plan. i was expecting the boss to throw us out except he didn't be a ball honda. if we need this function to assist the launch for the 1st 6 months and

we'll de install it as soon as possible, and vita will carry on working to improve emission on slides or for we'll get it done. it'll be gone again inside 6 months. as those was, the engine chief says to day that his staff failed to make it clear that it was a cheap device and that he gave no approval for the test detection. after the meeting, one of those present sent an e mail to to colleagues. what i understood was, if we are to use test detection, then in a way that we don't get caught the meeting is now considered the beginning of a gigantic fraud. at the time it was perhaps seen as just a bit of industry standard. fiddling with latasha does her dish fraud is only thing, that's not what i had in mind 1st because it was standard practice to have

functions like that. so the 2nd, because nitrogen oxide was not really an issue back then about, well donna, it's up. what is she that was basically a green light volition? there was no real feeling of wrong doing like it was seen more like j walkers or even a lot of people do it even if it's not allowed of those want lots of trees. and that was the sent him out to the symphony when done and what a claim that never seen it has fraud. who can we have a different opinion as our investigations progressed long? which ones like at the said, our findings, the results on the evidence that we've gathered tell a very different story for her. the function originally envisaged is the 6 months jumpstart, became a permanent fixture. over 10 years, it was fitted in 11000000 cars, sold all over the world, january 2007, a few weeks after the engineers meeting with the engine development head voice gang

hats. martin ventercore was promoted to the position of ceo morgan. under his management, v w would enjoy a record breaking success. he had an engineering background himself and was known for his attention to detail of you as we possibly what is the city this leader closure on field. the hero of child, leroy, in vasa, this is alice, his elderly life. it is. this is for 500 north, didn't miss most of them though, i log in was, was going through the v w. diesel engine had yet to hit the market even with the cheat software on board. it was not ready for mass production with progress impeded by clogged particulate filters and test car breakdowns. the new head of engine development needed a lot more money for the e, a 189, which required the approval of vin to cohen. to find his oscar. it was

a disaster of law plus the biggest development cost hike ever, and v w o via gig. again, matt at the end of 2007, the engine chief talked to vinto cohen, who had seemingly been previously unaware of the problems besetting the diesel engine project. does not of your school so happy? winter condos, as i told vince corn, bigger fiasco would have been seeing the cars breakdown on mass in the us. it was due to faulty particular filters. they're picking up, but simply protecting the filters via software could mean big trouble with the authorities. i heard of it's, it's printing. that's obviously because act i told him, i remember very clearly and he said to me to mir and no one 0, the engine chief insists he was talking about problems, but likewise knew nothing about any fraud. vinto cons memories of the

conversation appeared limited to the cost increase with no recollection of any details. not long after approving the multi 1000000 euro project funding, he presented his company's showcase diesel engine. you're charging all competitors every blend to so i $100000.00 forks logs a year in the us by the year who's outdated. the lead video i that i saw a strong side of our commitment to the clean diesel engine was finally launched in the u. s. since he 1000 dates, earth one manipulated muddle was even crowned green car if the year at the 2009 los angeles auto show. the engine was a resounding success. even if there was still serious problems. car off to car in

the u. s. ended up needing repairs because of the cheat software. on longer journeys, it just seems a car was on the test rig. the system switched to low emissions, but the filters became clogged. the engineers solution optimized the software zip. now it could even detect where the some mom was at the wheel. when now in the year 2012. this vague huffman, even the next mistake was the decision to add the steering angle factor he and does his and for me that's also the tragic bit stuff. so a bit like the ghosts called by curtis sorcerer's apprentice. oh, of course it was, which is why the entire hierarchy was again urged to make that decision happens a few. but ultimately, the decision was taken, thus mothers homes, senior managers had again decided in favor of manipulating their diesel powered

cars. again, a major strategic decision. and again, nobody challenged it. meanwhile, the circle of those in the know continued to grow. this is martin ventercore at the time. did he know what was going on in his company? there's no documented evidence to the affirmative. the ceo was busy celebrating one triumph after the next with v w increasing profit almost tenfold. under his leadership. martin ventercore was by now germany standouts, chief executive. he rubbed shoulders with world leaders, his annual salary, 17000000 euros, and v w was set for further success. but in 2014 developments to can you turn you to the work of another group of engineers. researches here at the university of

west virginia began using a different testing method. they measured emissions from cars while actually out on the road instead of in the lab. and to their surprise, the v. w engines, nitrogen oxide levels were up to 35 times higher than permitted we saw a vastly different performance between the test. so, and the on the, on the highway than, you know, then we knew that there, you know, the vehicles must be exhibiting some different behavior. while scientists and inspectors were baffled, nobody yet was thinking fraud. they informed v w. we fully anticipated the derby voluntary recall. things have been fixed and we heard nothing more about the virginia study was commissioned by the international council, unclean transportation or i. c. c, t. the developers at v w h q involved spoke new. it contained all the pieces of the puzzle to expose their machinations. an engineer remembers the increasing anxiety.

we knew we were busted. we had 500000 vehicles in the u. s. and in the worst case scenario would have to buy them back. the result was a growing tower of one lie after the next life with a high price, as is now clear from internal b. w reports punish or attend the india i. c, c t, studio, i'm unable to say who was aware of the i c c t study in full detail back then, i was argon does the, what i can say is that the main reason for the us authorities punishing us so harshly. was us not telling the truth after that? need to go hide casara along may 2014 martin ventercore, in his 1st told about the study. a close confidant spent got vice,

wrote him a note that landed in the brief case vin to kohen, would take home every weekend, num dusty, an amazing dash on the counter. that was the weekend mail, as reported in the media. it's an important point because it enables us to assert that from this moment on up to mr. ventercore, knew that the vehicles in the u. s. i had a defeat device device. i english don't hutton, so named because it's designed to defeat tests. vent got vice, remembered the gist of the note didn't text for devonne and i consulted oliver schmidt about the wording of the weekend mail defeat. it even included defeat device. everyone knew what we meant me would have, has it? i was assured that there was no logical explanation for the nitrogen oxide deviations we have our, i knew we had to take action. listen, not because we cheated, but because it was dangerous,

and our lack of an explanation that it was up on their connect. liam, when 0 at rus and yvonne and post as this was in the weekend mail, i was preparing for feedback about i didn't hear anything, not from ventercore either or didn't accomplished that reference was a red alert. well, not actually referring to test detection, got fi state warn ventercore that american inspectors could look for it. the exact wording, it's likely that the authorities will then search the v w systems for evidence of test detection being fitted in the engine control software. a defeat device but did venture colon even read that reference in his weekend mail? did he understand what its contents might entail for the company?

he would later effectively say that he hadn't read the alarming notes. all he could remember was having been informed of the study this same account, ventercore would repeat later on the record as a parliamentary committee of inquiry in berlin. according to his version of events, nobody mentioned manipulation or cheating. what i wanted to know was whether it was a genuine problem. i was told, no, it's a technical issue. i cannot understand why i was not clearly informed earlier about the problems in the us. of course i asked myself to whether i missed or misinterpreted particular signals. only at the very end he says, did he realize that the issue was an illegal defeat device 0 output to form or does

long's also st out merely because i found his appearance before the committee of inquiry, frankly appalling, his own on zillow. martin ventercore presented himself as someone who understood the engineering day and new v w vehicles to a t portal. it's your to years and there he is at the committee pretending had never heard of emissions control system as it was station looking on the vascular in tickle and says he was oblivious to anything untoward. for almost 10 years, he knew nothing about the defeat device and nothing about the growing risks for v. w. is that possible embodied type, he was a stickler for detail. although he was a boss for many decades easily you're in charge of technical issues that cannot have detailed comprehension of everything due to the sheer scale. because you can't understand every single detail, no way of the sister and man, this is a man with a wide range of different interest child would. and he had his people everywhere in

the company the funding go. i reckon also knew what was involved in what was into corners, a very clever man in my eyes to see a show and one interested in details. tides intimacy yet i really would be surprised if he hadn't noticed any things in all those 10 years. could click tut ah exactly what he did know back then remains unclear, but he evidently and massively underestimated the scope of the problems. vince collins well derivatives above all around the customer and their satisfaction fuel economy safety and driving enjoyment. all evidently more important than emissions. the scattered concern guns claudie didn't. the company's approach was quite clearly customer satisfaction has top priority. wooden animals with customers being satisfied with their car was vital for vin to corn, and the spirit of into corn as it were, was at the core of company culture. up emissions are not customer relevant,

as long as the car isn't pumping out dirty, rancid fumes. fucks wagon was not alone in its willingness to outsmart the inspectors. once the v w emissions scandal hit the headlines. other carmakers were also investigated, resulting in fines' claims for financial damages and recalls in germany as well as the u. s. among the new suspects, mercedes benz feet, w subsidiaries, audi and portia, but also chrysler theat and auto parts. supplier bosh for 2015 gaps that gazette gable g of prior to 2015. there was legislation that was evidently not enforced, that it had a cross and obvious loopholes. these exit and this legislation was simply not enforced across the board vote. volkswagen came clean. the others didn't argue. so this one sided focus on folks bargain isn't fair either. it's good for the.