On the boss’s chair at Audi in Ingolstadt, Rupert Stadler, is a long time. Soon, he must take to the dock. The Munich Prosecutor’s office has now brought criminal charges.
In the diesel scandal of the Volkswagen group, the former Audi must answer boss Rupert Stadler is expected to be before the court. The Prosecutor’s office in Munich brought an expected indictment against Stadler and three other leading Ex-employee of Audi. The four accused of fraud, will buried certification, as well as illegal advertising, been accused of indirectly wrong, informed the authority on Wednesday.
After the indictment, the car manufacturer has confirmed its commitment to the cooperation. “It is in the interest of the employees, the shareholders and the company as a whole, the circumstances that led to diesel crisis, legal completely to educate”, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. For all the Blame to the presumption of innocence applies.
Stadler is being accused by the public Prosecutor’s office, to have by the end of September 2015, of the manipulation of emission values known and still have the sale of the corresponding cars are not stopped. The other three accused submit to the load, to have engines for vehicles of the brands Audi, VW and Porsche developed its control system was equipped with an unauthorized software function.
Rupert Stadler is regarded as a confidant of the former Volkswagen Patriarch Ferdinand Piëch. In Piëchs time as VW group CEO Stadler was the office Manager. As Stadler has long been on the Audi-boss chair sat up, took charge of the financial Affairs of the Piëch family.
A picture from better times: Piech (left) and Stadler in January 2012
Investigations against 23 other defendants,
The three accused, in addition to Stadler, the former Audi and Porsche Manager Wolfgang Hatz, and two engineers, as several procedures, the Reuters news Agency, participants said. All rejected the allegations of the prosecutors in the hearings. The Prosecutor’s office did not comment on their behalf. The lawyers of Stadler and Hatz were initially not for opinions.
The Munich state court must now decide on the approval of the indictment. The investigations against 23 other Accused to take, according to the Prosecutor’s office.
The Volkswagen diesel scandal, in the Audi played a significant role, was busted in September 2015 in the United States. At that time, Volkswagen is under pressure from the local environmental authorities, to diesel exhaust fumes through a Software manipulated. This detected whether a vehicle is on the test bench was located and kept only the nitrogen oxide values. On the road, the exhaust-gas values were several times higher. The reparation of the diesel scandal has cost Volkswagen so far, 30 billion euros.
In addition to the Munich public Prosecutor’s office, the prosecutors determine in Braunschweig in the diesel scandal. Ex-group boss Martin Winterkorn, as well as four more people were indicted in April, because of serious fraud and unfair competition. In addition, prosecutors accuse the executives, in part, also embezzlement, tax evasion and indirect false certification. Against other suspects still under investigation.
Stadler was at 18. June 2018 due to suspicion of fraud, and the danger of collusion in Ingolstadt, had been arrested and had served time in prison in Augsburg-Gablingen four months in pretrial detention. The Munich higher regional court suspended the arrest warrant in June in the autumn of 2018, subject to certain conditions, except for law enforcement. Without the consent of the public Prosecutor’s office, Stadler was allowed to continue to record no contact to Mitbeschuldigten and potential witnesses. The successor to the Audi tip Sheet since the beginning of the year, Bram.
hb/qu (rtr,dpa)