Ex-Audi chief Rupert Stadler faces criminal charges for his role in dieselgate scandal
Former Audi boss Rupert Stadler has been charged for his part in Volkswagen’s emissions cheating scandal, known as dieselgate.
Read more: Former VW boss Martin Winterkorn faces criminal charges for emissions scandal
The Munich public prosecutor’s office said this morning that it has charged Stadler and three others with false certification and criminal advertising practices.
The dieselgate scandal has cost Volkswagen, which owns Audi, more than €30bn (£26bn) since it admitted in 2015 to using illegal software in its diesel engines to cheat anti-pollution tests.
The charges relate to sales of hundreds of Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche branded cars across Europe and the United States.
German authorities arrested Stadler in June last year in connection with the scandal. He remained in custody until October, when Audi sacked him.
“Defendant Stadler is accused of having been aware of the manipulations since the end of September 2015, at the latest, but he did not prevent the sale of affected Audi and Volkswagen vehicles thereafter,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
Read more: Volkswagen squirrels away €1bn contingency fund to pay emissions scandal legal fees
Stadler’s charges follow those levelled against former Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn in April, which marked the first indictment against a former VW board member on home turf since the revelations came to light several years ago.
One current employee charged
Audi confirmed the indictment of Stadler, and added that one of the other three people charged is a current Audi employee. The others are former employees.
The car maker said the case is separate from proceedings against the company itself, which came to an end in October with Audi agreeing to pay an €800m (£733m) fine.
A spokesperson said: “Our company continues to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities in order to clarify the circumstances that led to the diesel crisis. This clarification is a prerequisite for the successful new start.
“We have learned from our past and are using it as an opportunity.”
Main image: Getty