Dimming danger in the diesel scandal: Audi boss Stadler is in custody

06/18/2018

Dimming danger in the diesel scandal Audi boss Rupert Stadler arrested

Rupert Stadler

Only a few days ago investigators searched the private apartment of Audi CEO Rupert Stadler. The suspicion: fraud in connection with the diesel affair. On Monday morning, the manager was arrested now and is in custody, said the prosecutor Munich. As a reason, the authority called dimming.

In the diesel affair at Volkswagen sits with Audi CEO Rupert Stadler for the first time a member of the top management in custody. The Munich district court issued on Monday arrest warrant against the Audi chief. The manager was arrested early in the morning at his home in Ingolstadt.

“The accused was brought before the investigating judge who ordered the execution of the pre-trial detention,” the Munich investigation authority said. The reason for the detention was the danger of blackout. The judiciary cites this reason if it fears that evidence could be destroyed or someone tries to influence witnesses.

According to the district attorney, Stadler did not provide any information on the matter. His interrogation should start no later than Wednesday. Volkswagen and Audi confirmed Stadler’s arrest and stated that he was still presumed innocent. A spokesman for the VW owner Porsche SE said: “It is clear that the VW Supervisory Board will deal with the topic.” Stadler’s lawyer declined to comment. According to prosecutors, the defense has yet to make any statements.

The news burst just before a regular Supervisory Board meeting of Volkswagen in Wolfsburg, in which the status of the investigation in the diesel scandal again wanted to be a topic. The public prosecutor’s office Munich had only last week Surprisingly, Stadler’s private apartment was searched and justified this with suspicion of fraud in the diesel affair. The apartment of another acting Audi manager had also been searched. The number of those accused rose to 20.

What are Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess and the Supervisory Board doing now?

For Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess, the investigation against Stadler is becoming a problem. Because he relies on the conversion of the Wolfsburg multi-brand company to the Audi boss. Stadler heads the important premium group of Wolfsburg with the Audi brand at the top.

Stadler is said to have been uncovered by the false emission values in Europe after uncovering the manipulations in the US, but unlike in the US, they did not order a sales stop. The investigators relied on the analysis of correspondence, reported investigators. In March 2017 and February 2018 there had been raids at the Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt and at the Neckarsulm plant.

Also read: These are Stadler’s coarsest blunders in the diesel crisis

Audi is said to have sold in the US and Europe from 2009 to about 220,000 diesel cars with cheat software. Since the end of 2015, six Audi board members had had to take their hats off. Stadler has been managing Audi since 2007 and has been under considerable pressure since the announcement of the exhaust scandal over two and a half years ago. Resignation claims have repeatedly been made against the manager.

A resignation declined the longtime Audi manager in the past. So far, the families Porsche and Piech Stadler held in spite of all criticism Stadler in office.

Also read: From the executive chair in custody – Middelhoff writes business detective story

In response to the news preferred stock of Volkswagen Show stock market chart significantly on Monday. With a discount of 1.93 percent to 157.93 euros, they were the biggest losers in the morning in the Dax Show stock market chart, VW shares lost significantly more than the shares of BMW (-0.9 percent) and Daimler (-1 percent). With Stadler was in the processing of the diesel affair of the hitherto highest-ranking manager of the VW Group has been arrested, said a dealer. Investors therefore reacted with caution and dissolved VW positions.

rei / dpa / Reuters

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