"Former CEO Dr. Martin Winterkorn is consistently accused of a particularly grave case of fraud, a violation of the law on unfair competition and embezzlement as he… while knowing of illegal manipulations of diesel engines, had neglected to disclose this knowledge to the relevant authorities in Europe and the United States or to customers and to ban further installation of the so-called 'defeat device' and sales of vehicles with such 'defeat device'," the press release of the prosecution said.
In addition, the prosecutors found that the company carried out a "useless" software update in November 2014, which cost 23 million euros ($26 million), and was aimed at disguising the true level of emissions.
READ MORE: US Slaps Volkswagen, Ex-CEO Winterkorn With Lawsuit Over 'Dieselgate' Scandal
Last year, Martin Winterkorn was charged with fraud in the United States.
He left Volkswagen AG board of directors in 2015 after the US Environmental Protection Agency had accused the carmaker of tampering with diesel engines to cheat at emissions tests.