Rupert Stadler, Ex-Audi Chief, indicted for Diesel Scandal fraud

BERLIN – German prosecutors on Wednesday indicted Rupert Stadler, the former CEO of Volkswagen's luxury car division Audi, for fraud for the company's role in a diesel emissions cheating.

Mr. Stadler, who was arrested in June 2018 and later released, and three others who were not named were accused of developing illegal emissions software used in cars sold under the Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche brands as part of a larger cheating effort diesel emissions tests, Munich prosecutors said in a statement.

The group was also charged with falsifying testimonials and illegal advertising.

The charges related to the sale of 250,712 Audis, 71,577 Volkswagens and 112,131 Porsches in Europe and the United States, prosecutors said.

Volkswagen was found in 2015 to use software to artificially lower a vehicle's emission level when undergoing tests. In 2017, the German automaker pleaded guilty to a huge emissions fraud and agreed to pay $ 22 billion in penalties and settlements in the United States.

The prosecutors said that Mr. Stadler had known about the manipulation by the end of September 2015 at the latest, but continued to allow the cars to be sold or failed to take action to prevent them from being sold.