Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2151307/audi-ceo-rupert-stadler-arrested-diesel-emissions-probe
World/ Europe

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler arrested in diesel emissions probe

German prosecutors last week widened their emissions cheating probe into Volkswagen’s luxury brand Audi to include Rupert Stadler among the suspects accused of fraud and false advertising

German prosecutors last week widened their emissions cheating probe into Volkswagen’s luxury brand Audi to include Rupert Stadler among the suspects accused of fraud and false advertising

Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler has been arrested in connection with parent company Volkswagen’s so-called dieselgate emissions cheating scandal, German prosecutors said on Monday.

The dramatic development comes a week after Munich prosecutors raided Stadler’s home after charging him with fraud and the falsification of documents that allowed diesel vehicles equipped with cheating software to be sold to European customers.

Prosecutors said the arrest was justified because of the “risk of concealment of evidence”.

Audi confirmed the arrest, declining to give further details.

Reacquired Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars in a desert graveyard near Victorville, California on March 28, 2018. Photo: Reuters
Reacquired Volkswagen and Audi diesel cars in a desert graveyard near Victorville, California on March 28, 2018. Photo: Reuters

“For Mr Stadler, the presumption of innocence continues to apply,” a spokesman said in a statement.

Stadler’s arrest is the most high-profile yet in the dieselgate incident, which started when the Volkswagen group admitted in 2015 to equipping some 11 million engines worldwide with “defeat devices” designed to dupe pollution tests.

VW’s subsidiary Audi has long faced suspicions that its engineers developed the software used in the scam.

Audi’s former head of engine development was taken into custody in September 2017.

German authorities earlier this month ordered the recall of some 60,000 Audi A6 and A7 cars across Europe to remove illegal emissions control software, using a different technique however than the one at the heart of dieselgate.

Former VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn stepped down soon after the scandal broke in September 2015, while successor Matthias Mueller was hastily replaced earlier this year.

A March 2011 photo of Martin Winterkorn (left) and Matthias Mueller. Photo: EPA
A March 2011 photo of Martin Winterkorn (left) and Matthias Mueller. Photo: EPA

Both are suspected of knowing earlier than they have so far admitted about the cheating, meaning they may have failed in their duty to tell investors in the car giant about the financial risks.

US prosecutors also indicted Winterkorn last month, saying he knew about the company’s emissions cheating as early as May 2014 but decided to continue.

Present boss Herbert Diess has been accused of knowing about diesel cheating before it became public – an allegation rejected by the firm last month.

The scandal has so far cost the VW group more than 25 billion (US$29 billion) in buy-backs, fines and compensation, and the company is mired in legal woes at home and abroad.