Ex-Porsche CFO Haerter Convicted of Loan Fraud

A German court has found Holger Haerter, former CFO of Porsche Automobil Holding SE, guilty of credit fraud and fined him €630,000.

The judge ruled that Haerter lied to investment bank BNP Paribas about the number of options on Volkswagen AG shares Porsche owned when it was refinancing a €10 billion loan in 2009. At the time, the holding company was secretly amassing options to increase its VW stake to 75%.

Haerter downplayed Porsche's liquidity needs by €1.4 billion the cash the required to exercise options on a 20% VW stake, the judge says. He notes that Porsche would have been forced into bankruptcy if it had been unable to refinance the loan.

Haerter says he will appeal the verdict.

The ruling was the first criminal finding against Porsche executives in a string of legal proceedings related to the company's failed attempt to take over VW. Prosecutors have accused Haerter and former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking of market manipulation in connection with the options scheme and are investigating other Porsche supervisory board members.

In February 2012, a German court rebuked Porsche supervisory board member Ferdinand Piech, who also is VW chairman, for committing a "grave violation" of his duty to shareholders. Piech said in 2009 he didn't know how risky the options were and hadn't tried to find out.

Porsche SE also faces civil lawsuits in Germany from VW investors who seek about €5.5 billion in damages for their losses when the options scheme was revealed.