Hedge fund managers have been suing Porsche for years now, alleging that the car company lied about its intentions during its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen,
a gambit that caused them billion in losses. Over the same period,
authorities in Stuttgart built a criminal case against former CEO
Wendelin Wiedeking (above, left) and Chief Financial Officer Holger
Härter (right), filing charges in December 2012. When those fund
plaintiffs lost their most recent court case,
one of the dimming lights in the dark and receding tunnel was that the
criminal investigation might unearth more evidence about Porsche's
actions that could help the plaintiffs in pending litigation.
Bloomberg reports
that another light has gone out, though, with a Stuttgart court
dismissing the market manipulation case before going to trial because,
as a court spokesperson said, "there wasn't enough evidence backing up
the charges." When prosecutors get the files back from the court, they
have a week to decide to refile, but unless they've been sandbagging
evidence that could bolster the case, the only lights at the end of the
tunnel will be those welcoming Wiedeking and Härter back to the world of
legally unencumbered men.
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