MUNICH — Formerly audio boss Rupert Stadler willing to confess about his role in diesel engine emissions scandal in exchange for a suspended sentence and a payment of 1.1 million euros ($1.21 million), he and his defense team said Wednesday.
The former CEO has been in court for fraud since 2020 because of the scandal behind the parent corporation volkswagen and Audi admitted in 2015 to using illegal software to cheat on emissions tests. Stadler has previously denied the allegations.
Stadler’s defense team said a statement will be issued on May 16, after which the judge will decide whether it is a full confession and issue a ruling in June. It is unclear whether Stadler will issue the statement in person or through his attorney.
Prosecutors also agreed to the deal. A judge said Stadler, 60, who faces 1.5 to 2 years in prison, will receive a suspended sentence if Stadler agrees to plead guilty.
The trial is one of the most prominent court proceedings in the aftermath of the diesel oil scandal at Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi. The revelation that millions of emissions tests were manipulated surfaced in September 2015.
According to prosecutors, the engineers controlled the engines in such a way that they complied with legal emissions values on the test bench, not on the road. Stadler allegedly failed to stop the sale of the manipulated cars after the scandal became known.
Stadler was tried along with former Audi executive Wolfgang Hatz and an engineer. Hatz and the engineer confessed to manipulating the engine.
Audi declined to comment, saying it was not involved in the trial.
Wednesday’s settlement follows a bargain between Stadler’s defense team, prosecutors and the court, particularly over how much Stadler will pay in exchange for a suspended sentence.
Prosecutors want 2 million euros, citing Stadler’s salary at Audi and Volkswagen as well as his financial and real estate assets. Stadler’s team initially argued that €1.1 million was too high because he had no current income and faced heavy legal costs.
