Diessel doubts

18 June 2018 By Liam Proud Follow @liamwardproud

The head of Volkswagen’s luxury brand is being held over fears he may hinder an investigation into emissions cheating. The question is why the long-serving executive still had his job. The carmaker’s messy governance is still hindering new boss Herbert Diess’ cleanup operation.

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German authorities on June 18 arrested the head of Volkswagen's luxury carmaker Audi.

Munich prosecutors, who earlier this month widened their probe into Audi, said Rupert Stadler was being held due to fears he might hinder their investigation into the scandal.

VW admitted in September 2015 to using illegal software to cheat U.S. emissions tests on diesel engines. The United States filed criminal charges against former VW CEO Martin Winterkorn in May.

Stadler is a member of VW’s management board, the executive body which runs the company. He joined the board of Audi in 2003, and was responsible for finance until September 2007. That year, he became chairman of the Audi board of management.

Audi and VW confirmed the arrest and reiterated Stadler was presumed innocent unless proven otherwise, Reuters reported.

German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on June 18 that Audi will appoint an interim chief executive.

Volkswagen’s preference and ordinary shares were down 3.3 percent and 2.4 percent respectively at 1240 GMT. Germany’s DAX index was down 1.4 percent.

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