Audi CEO Placed Under Arrest to Prevent Evidence Suppression

Audi AG Chief Executive Officer Rupert Stadler was arrested on Monday, June 18. Munich prosecutors said that the arrest was meant to prevent Stadler from suppressing evidence as the government delves into the car manufacturer's alleged diesel emissions test manipulation.

"As part of an investigation into diesel affairs and Audi engines, the Munich prosecutor's office executed an arrest warrant against Professor Rupert Stadler on June 18, 2018," the Munich prosecutor's office said in a statement.

A judge in Germany ordered that Stadler be placed in custody to keep him from doing anything that may obstruct or hinder the  government's diesel investigation.

The Munich prosecutor's office widened the scope of its emissions-cheating probe against the luxury car maker to add Stadler into the list of executives suspected of fraud and false advertising.

Volkswagen Group and Audi confirmed Stadler’s arrest Monday, adding that the presumption of innocence applied to Stadler's case.

Stadler's arrest is the latest in a series of events stemming from Volkswagen's admittance back in 2015 that it used tampered software to cheat US emissions tests on diesel engines, effectively launching 'Dieselgate,' the biggest scandal in the company's history. In May this year, the US filed criminal charges against Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn.