Overview
- The trial opens Monday at the Landgericht Berlin with formal charges that Scheuer and Gerhard Schulz gave false testimony to the Bundestag Pkw‑Maut investigation committee about negotiations with the operator consortium.
- Prosecutors allege the operators offered in November 2018 to postpone signing until the European Court of Justice ruled and that the defendants later claimed no memory of such an offer.
- The disputed contracts were signed at the end of 2018, struck down by the EuGH in June 2019, cancelled, and after arbitration the state paid about €243 million to Kapsch and CTS Eventim.
- Scheuer and Schulz deny the allegations and say they cooperated with investigators; a conviction for false testimony in Germany can mean three months to five years in prison, though sentences are often suspended.
- Investigations began in April 2022 and an indictment followed in August 2025, so the hearing schedule through November will focus on documentary and witness evidence that could clarify who knew what in late 2018 and why those choices mattered politically.