2023-05-03 11:41:24
Rupert Stadler, the former CEO of Audi, will plead guilty in an agreement with the regional court in Munich. This reversal should lead the court to render its judgment in June.
The former CEO of Audi, a Volkswagen subsidiary, agreed on Wednesday to plead guilty in Germany in the river trial judging his responsibilities in the “dieselgate” affair, one of the many legal consequences of the sprawling diesel engine scandal.
While he has so far disputed the charges, Rupert Stadler will plead guilty as part of an agreement with the Munich Regional Court.
In exchange for the confession, he should receive a suspended prison sentence of up to two years and pay a fine of 1.1 million euros.
The 60-year-old former boss of the ring firm is the main defendant in the first criminal trial opened in Germany to try the global dieselgate scandal. He has been appearing for two and a half years alongside other former Volkswagen executives.
Rupert Stadler’s formal confession is expected in two weeks. They are a prerequisite for the plea agreement to be validated.
Ultimate step, the court should render its judgment in June, according to a judicial source.
Fraud by omission
Rupert Stadler had always denied any responsibility for the rigged engine affair that broke out at Volkswagen in 2015, saying he had been duped by his technicians.
But the court came to the conclusion that the leader should have recognized by July 2016 at the latest that the emission values of diesel cars might be manipulated.
Instead of stopping the illegal scheme and informing business partners, he continued to support the sale of fake cars.
Consequently, the court is moving towards a prison sentence for “fraud by omission” but which will be suspended due to the confessions, albeit late.
This admission of guilt makes it possible to reduce the sentence incurred, which was a maximum of ten years.
Rupert Stadler accepted the guilty plea, as did the other two defendants at trial: a former director at Audi and Porsche, Wolfgang Hatz, and an Audi engineer, Giovanni Pamio.
The prosecution, however, refuses the principle of a suspended sentence for Wolfgang Hatz. If the judge follows this advice, the defendant still risks a prison sentence.
Legal ramifications
In 2015, following accusations from the US Environmental Agency (EPA), Volkswagen admitted to having equipped 11 million of its diesel vehicles with software capable of making them appear less polluting during laboratory tests than on roads.
A global scandal ensued which seriously tarnished the reputation of the German automobile industry.
The Volkswagen group has to date suffered a global bill exceeding 30 billion euros in reimbursements, damages and legal costs, the largest of which was paid in the United States.
Many legal aspects of the scandal remain to be completed.
Another major criminal trial opened in September 2021, involving four former Volkswagen officials accused of fraud, is still underway in a court in Brunswick (north), not far from the manufacturer’s historic headquarters.
Renault, Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat-Chrysler indicted in France
This trial is currently being held without its main defendant, the former CEO of the leading European manufacturer at the time of the scandal, Martin Winterkorn. Exempted from hearing for medical reasons, the date of his possible appearance remains unknown.
Another civil lawsuit is taking place in the Brunswick court by investors seeking compensation, while the title of Volkswagen had collapsed by some 40% in the days following the outbreak of the scandal.
In France, the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed in March the indictment for aggravated deception of Volkswagen in this case which has already earned the German manufacturer a sentence to pay a fine of one billion euros.
The German is not alone here, the manufacturers Renault, Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat-Chrysler having also been indicted in mid-2021.
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