Overview
- The Landgericht München II has begun hearing fraud, indirect false certification and unlawful advertising charges against former Audi development chief Ulrich Hackenberg and three other ex-managers.
- The indictment states Ulrich Hackenberg and Stefan Knirsch learned of manipulations between October 2013 and September 2015 yet failed to halt sales of affected cars.
- Prosecutors say 434,420 Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche vehicles with manipulated diesel engines were sold in the United States and Europe during the period at issue.
- The proceedings follow the 2023 fraud conviction of ex-Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, a verdict recently affirmed by the Federal Court of Justice.
- In a separate investor model case at the OLG Stuttgart, former Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche is scheduled to testify about alleged board-level decisions on emissions controls from 2012 to 2018, as investors seek €1.25 billion in damages and the company rejects the allegations.