The former executive director of Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, on trial in Germany in the “dieselgate” case, admits his responsibilities in the scandal of engineered diesel engines, announced his defense in Munich court on Monday.
According to attorney Ulrike Thole-Groll’s brief statement, Rupert Stadler said he “accepted” the vehicles for sale with unauthorized “software” and “failed” to notify Volkswagen’s partners.
The 60-year-old former boss of the company is the main defendant in Germany’s first criminal case over the global “dieselgate” scandal.
When questioned after his defense’s brief statement, Rupert Stadler confirmed the statement with a “yes.”
Stadler has been on trial for two and a half years, along with other former Volkswagen executives, and has so far denied the allegations.
But negotiations with the Munich court changed the situation a few weeks ago: Rupert Stadler agreed to plead guilty and, in exchange for a full confession of the charges, would receive a lighter sentence than ten years in prison.
Rupert Stadler, an education funder, is accused not of inciting fraud, but of knowing about the installation of the illegal “software” and having done nothing to prevent it, by promoting the sale of engineered cars. continue to support.
The defendant “regrets” not having been “able to resolve the crisis” within Volkswagen related to the manipulated engines and therefore accepts criminal responsibility, according to his lawyer.
The court’s decision is expected to be made in June.
The former director is expected to receive a suspended prison sentence of up to two years and a fine of 1.1 million euros if the court’s proposal is accepted.
The car giant Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to having installed devices in 11 million vehicles of the group’s brands that made them appear less polluting in laboratory tests than they actually were.
The “dieselgate” provoked a worldwide scandal and seriously damaged the reputation of the German car industry.
Source: DN
