(Update: reaction from Scheuer's lawyer, background)

BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Former Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) is to stand trial on charges of perjury in connection with the failed passenger car toll project. The Berlin Regional Court has admitted the indictment, a court spokeswoman announced (case reference: 538 KLs 16/25).

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 indicted.

Scheuer rejects allegations

Scheuer's lawyer, Daniel Krause, stated on Friday: 'After more than four years of investigations, during which Andreas Scheuer has always shown full cooperation with the investigative authorities, the main hearing will finally offer the opportunity to comprehensively clarify the facts with the involvement of the defense.' He added that the defense had been denied this opportunity until now.

'The Berlin Regional Court will undertake this clarification objectively and unimpressed by the sometimes heated, charged, and protracted political debate,' the statement continued. Scheuer denies the charges brought by the public prosecutor. 'Mr. Scheuer is confident that his innocence will be confirmed. He will fight for this.'

The former State Secretary also denies the allegations, according to consistent reports from the defense and the prosecution. Both defendants are presumed innocent until a final and binding conclusion of the proceedings.

Trial start date unclear

It is not yet certain when the trial before the commercial criminal chamber will begin. The court is currently coordinating with the parties involved, according to the court spokeswoman.

The failed car toll

The passenger car toll - a prestige project of the CSU within the federal government - was halted by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2019 as unlawful. The central sticking point was that only domestic drivers were to be fully compensated for the toll through vehicle tax relief.

Scheuer was Transport Minister at the time. An inquiry committee subsequently examined potential errors made by Scheuer. The committee began its work in December 2019 and concluded it in the summer of 2021. Criticism focused primarily on the fact that Scheuer signed operator contracts for the car toll at the end of 2018, before final legal certainty had been established by the ECJ. The opposition at the time accused Scheuer of serious breaches of budgetary and procurement law at the expense of taxpayers.

The substance of the indictment

According to the indictment, Scheuer, who resigned his seat in the Bundestag in April 2024, and Schulz are alleged to have made deliberately false statements during their questioning by the inquiry committee. When asked by MPs whether the operators had offered at a meeting on November 29, 2018, to sign the contracts only after the ECJ decision, both are alleged to have stated, 'contrary to their actual memory, that they could not recall such an offer to postpone,' according to the public prosecutor's office.

Managers of the companies originally intended to be operators had reported this offer to Scheuer during the inquiry committee - they claimed to have made it to him at the end of November 2018 during a breakfast meeting with Scheuer at the ministry. Scheuer is said to have rejected the offer.

Scheuer, on the other hand, testified before the committee in early October 2020 that, to his recollection, no such offer from the operators had been made. This was consistent with Schulz's testimony.

According to the committee report, Scheuer maintained that the meeting with the managers was for a 'general political exchange of ideas' to reaffirm the importance of the planned car toll for the federal government. This resulted in conflicting testimonies.

The origin of the investigation

The Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office announced in early May 2022 that it had opened an investigation into Scheuer and Schulz in April on suspicion of perjury before the inquiry committee. According to the authority, the basis for this was several criminal complaints filed by private individuals. The public prosecutor's office indicted Scheuer and Schulz last August.

Toll debacle costs taxpayers dearly

As a result of the toll debacle, the German state had to pay 243 million euros in damages to the operators originally intended for the project; this followed a settlement after an initial arbitration proceeding.

The intended operators had demanded compensation after the federal government terminated the contracts shortly after the court ruling. Scheuer had rejected the companies' claims, leading to arbitration. Following a further arbitration proceeding, the federal government paid an additional 27 million euros in damages.

Federal government declined to sue Scheuer

At the end of 2023, the Federal Ministry of Transport announced that it would waive a lawsuit against former minister Scheuer regarding the millions in follow-up costs from the failed car toll. Previously, a legal opinion had advised against taking legal action for liability claims - primarily due to insufficient prospects of success. The then-minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had commissioned the analysis to clarify potential claims against his predecessor./mvk/DP/stw