Munich (August 01, 2019) – German prosecutors in Munich have brought charges against former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler and three other people in connection with the 2015 emissions test cheating scandal, also known as diesel gate. Stadler is accused of fraud, false certification, and criminal advertising practices according to Reuters.
Stadler had worked for Volkswagen since 1990 and allegedly knew about the manipulated engines. In September 2015, Volkswagen admitted to the emission scheme. Premium brand Audi admitted in November 2015 that its 3.0 litre V6 diesel engines were fitted with an auxiliary control device which was deemed illegal in the United States.
Volkswagen and Audi installed a software application, known as a defeat device so that an engine recognized when it was connected to the emissions testing equipment. The engine’s emissions control would only activate in the test environment, which means that during the tests fewer toxic emissions were produced than under normal circumstances.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the engines in question emitted 40 times the amount of dangerous nitrogen oxides (NOx) allowed by US regulations, Reuters reported. In late September 2015, Environment Canada started to investigate the diesel emissions scandal and the Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment raided VW Canada’s offices in the fall of 2017.
Stadler was arrested last summer and spent a few months in prison. Audi fired him shortly afterward. Martin Winterkorn, former Volkswagen CEO was charged with fraud, embezzlement and violating competition law over diesel emissions earlier this year.
