Four ex-Audi executives charged with fraud over Dieselgate

Three former board members and retired manager charged with fraud and criminal advertising

Fraud charges have been filed in Germany against three former Audi board members and a retired department head over the Dieselgate scandal, German media reports.

A statement released by Munich prosecutors says “four defendants are accused of fraud, indirect false certification and criminal advertising”. The defendants are yet to be named.

Reuters claims the four senior Audi figures are accused of developing engines to work with an illegal software function that detected a laboratory-based testing regime and then made the engines produce lower emissions than in normal driving.

The prosecution claims the former board members were made aware of the practice multiple times between October 2013 and September 2015 but did nothing to prevent it. One of the charged figures kept quiet about his involvement despite being promoted to the board in 2015.

Former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, alongside three others, were charged last year over their roles in the scandal after the Volkswagen Group admitted the existence of the software in 2015.

The charges release to a total of 434,420 cars made by the Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche brands that were primarily sold in North America and Europe. Stadler will finally face trial at the end of September.

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