Former Audi boss fails in bid to be freed from custody
RUPERT STADLER, the former chief executive of German carmaker Audi, has has his request to be freed from custody rejected, the Munich court of appeal said yesterday.
Mr Stadler was arrested in mid-june as part of a broader investigation into emissions cheating at the premium brand, which is part of Volkswagen Group.
He was detained on fears he would seek to influence witnesses being questioned as part of an investigation into Volkswagen’s emissions scandal.
“The Chamber emphasises that danger of obstructing justice remains. The release of the accused from custody was therefore rejected,” the Munich court said in a statement.
The court also said there was evidence he had “allowed the engines to be deployed and to be sold despite knowing about the manipulation or … turned a blind eye on the manipulation” at the heart of the carmaker’s emissions scandal.
Mr Stadler, 55, who stepped down in June, had asked to be released from custody and appealed against his arrest, the Munich prosecutor’s office said.
Stadler has been under fire since Audi admitted in November 2015 – two months after Volkswagen – that it used illegal software to cheat US emissions tests on diesel engines.
The 55-year-old had held onto his post mainly thanks to the backing from members of Volkswagen’s controlling Porsche-piech families.
The prosecutors are investigating Stadler and another member of Audi’s top management for suspected fraud and false advertising tied to illegal pollution levels in its cars and manipulated vehicle tests.