Ex-Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer to be tried for false car‑toll testimony

Former German transport minister Andreas Scheuer and former state secretary Gerhard Schulz are set to appear before the Berlin Landgericht on 21 September. The court has scheduled twelve trial days, with a possible verdict on 25 November. prosecutors allege that both gave false statements to a parliamentary inquiry investigating the failed Pkw‑Maut (car‑toll) project, which the European Court of Justice declared illegal in 2019. Scheuer, who led the ministry when the toll contracts were signed in 2018, resigned his Bundestag seat in April 2024. The investigation, opened in 2022, stems from multiple complaints by private individuals and focuses on whether the defendants deliberately misled the inquiry.

The trial will address whether Scheuer and Schulz knowingly provided false testimony about contract negotiations and the legal basis of the toll. Both deny the accusations and invoke the presumption of innocence until a final judgment is rendered.