Braunschweig, Germany - A former top executive at Volkswagen
AG became the first person to stand trial on Wednesday in a scandal
involving sex and bribery at Europe's biggest carmaker.
Peter Hartz, 65, is accused of sanctioning nearly 2 million euros
(2.6 million dollars) in illegal bonuses while director of
Volkswagen's personnel department.
The payments were allegedly used to finance lavish foreign trips,
mainly by the head of the company's works council, Klaus Volkert, and
his Brazilian mistress, Adriana Barros.
Hartz, who left the company in July 2005, admitted in October to
'a criminal responsibility for giving preferential treatment to the
former works council head.'
The scandal highlighted the lengths that the respected former
manager went to in order to keep work's council members on the
management's side.
Hartz, who also gave his name to the labour market reforms
introduced under former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, faces 44 counts
of breach of trust.
A small group of protesters jeered Hartz when he arrived by car
for the hearing at a court in Braunschweig, close to the town
of Wolfsburg, where Volkswagen has its headquarters.
No witnesses were expected to be called during the two-day trial
after reports that the former executive cooperated extensively with
prosecutors.
Hartz faces a large fine or a prison term of up to five years
if convicted, but sources close to the case said he could walk away
with a two year-suspended sentence when the verdict is handed down on
January 25.
The scandal, which surfaced in June 2005, originally centred on
allegations of bribes from potential suppliers and the creation of
dummy companies which were used to secure lucrative contracts abroad.
But it quickly widened to include claims about flying around high-
class prostitutes, visits to brothels and sex parties financed with
company funds.
The charges came after an 18-month investigation, which has also
seen the indictment of Hans-Juergen Uhl, a former member of the works
council who is also a member of parliament in Berlin.
Uhl, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition partner, the
Social Democratic Party (SPD), has been indicted on two counts of
being an accessory to fraud and five counts of making false
statements under oath.
Volkert was arrested last year because of concerns about the
suppression of evidence, but released after two months.
The former works council chief is alleged to have been paid
illegal bonuses worth 1.9 million euros by Hartz between 1994 and
2005. His mistress is alleged to have received payments totalling
400,000 euros.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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