Skip to main content

VW Chief Swept Up In Probe Of Audi Employees, Executives

As investigators sought more information on Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler as the Dieselgate probe continued in Germany, the offices of the Audi chief and VW Chief Executive Matthias Mueller were searched. Mueller was caught up in this part of the probe because he chairs Audi's supervisory board.
VW's chief was caught up in the ongoing Dieselgate investigation as probers sought information on Rupert Stadler, head of the VW subsidiary.

Although the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal is winding down in the United States, in Europe, it is driving forward with as much fury as it has ever had. Recently, prosecutors swooped down on Audi and Volkswagen Group offices in three major German cities as they sought more information in the ongoing scandal investigation.

According to the weekly news magazine Bild am Sonntag, 100 officials conducted the raids on the scattered sites. Earlier reports put the number of investigators probing Audi, the major target of this set of visits, at 70. Volkswagen offices were swept up in this raid because they are the parent of Audi. Earlier reports also indicated that the investigators looked at as many as six sites, which included private apartments.

The raids concentrated on the offices of Rupert Stadler, chief executive officer of Audi, and Matthias Mueller, Volkswagen chief executive. The investigators went through VW and Audi offices in the automakers’ major plants and headquarters. They concentrated on sites in Ingolstadt, Germany, and Neckarsulm, a major assembly plant. Also, they searched the Wolfsburg offices of Mueller. Wolfsburg is the headquarters of the Volkswagen Group and the brand.

Bild am Sonntag said the raids focused on 47 Volkswagen employees. The investigators were very thorough in their search. They looked through the personal calendars, notebooks, and smartphone memory.

Bild said Mueller was targeted by the probe because he chairs the supervisory board for Audi, VW’s premium car line.

Source: Automotive News, Bild am Sonntag

Automotive News
Audi