BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Former Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) is to stand trial over allegations of giving false testimony in connection with the failed passenger car toll project. The Berlin Regional Court has admitted the indictment, according to a court spokesperson.

The Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office accuses the 51-year-old of lying before the Bundestag's toll inquiry committee. Former State Secretary Gerhard Schulz has also been charged.

The former CSU minister rejects the allegations. His lawyer, Daniel Krause, stated in August when the indictment became known that his client 'emphatically opposes' the charges. According to consistent reports from both the defense and the prosecution, the former State Secretary also denies the allegations.

The start date for the trial before the commercial criminal chamber remains undecided. The court is still coordinating with the parties involved, the spokesperson added.

The core of the indictment

The passenger car toll - a prestige project of the CSU within the then conservative-social democratic coalition government - was struck down as unlawful by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in June 2019. An inquiry committee subsequently examined potential failings by Scheuer.

The committee commenced its work in December 2019 and concluded in the summer of 2021. Criticism focused primarily on the fact that Scheuer had signed operating contracts for the toll as early as late 2018, before final legal certainty had been established by the ECJ.

According to the indictment, Scheuer and Schulz are alleged to have made 'deliberate false statements' during their questioning by the committee. When asked by lawmakers whether the operators had offered, during a meeting on November 29, 2018, to sign the contracts only after the ECJ ruling, both reportedly 'stated, contrary to their actual recollection, that they could not remember such an offer to postpone,' the prosecution stated.

The origin of the investigation

The Public Prosecutor's Office announced in early May 2022 that it had initiated an investigation in April against Scheuer and former Transport State Secretary Schulz on suspicion of giving false testimony before the Bundestag inquiry committee.

According to the authorities, the investigation was based on several criminal complaints filed by private individuals. At the time, it was stated that there was initial suspicion that Scheuer and Schulz had 'deliberately testified untruthfully' during their witness statements.

State liable for 243 million euros

Scheuer resigned his seat in the Bundestag in April 2024 and has since founded a consulting firm. As a result of the toll debacle, the German state was forced to pay 243 million euros in damages to the originally intended operators. This followed a settlement reached after arbitration proceedings./mvk/DP/stw