Ex-Audi boss negotiating confession

Former Audi boss Rupert Stadler is negotiating a confession in the process of embellished emission values ​​for diesel cars. Judge presiding judge Stefan Weickert said on Tuesday the court had given Stadler a suspended sentence of one and a half to two years if he made a full confession.

The prosecutor “could live with it” if Stadler had to pay probation in the millions, the judge said. Another meeting with the defenders of Stadler is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The former Audi’s head of engine development, Wolfgang Hatz, made a confession at trial on Tuesdayalthough prosecutors rejected the court’s proposed settlement in his case.

Late confession

According to preliminary assessments of the Economic Criminal Court, Stadler should have acknowledged by July 2016 at the latest that the emission values ​​of diesel cars could have been manipulated. He should have looked into the matter and informed the trading partners. Instead, he continued to tolerate the sale of the cars.

Hatz admitted he had them development of the software, with which the nitrogen oxide limit values ​​of the diesel engines were complied with on the test bench, but no longer on the road. As a result, the car manufacturer did not have to retrofit larger Adblue tanks for exhaust gas cleaning.

In the confession read by his attorney, Hatz explained that he had acknowledged and accepted the possibility that impermissible defeat devices had been installed.

Big fine

The court had proposed Hatz a suspended sentence and probation of 400,000 euros if he made a full confession. Hatz’s defense agreed, but prosecutors asked for a prison sentence without parole. Because Hatz is responsible for significant damage in a very high position, and the confession comes very late.

The court agreed in the case of a co-defendant chief engineer. He will receive a suspended sentence if he pays 50,000 euros.

(sda/awp/dpa)