Rupert Stadler became the first board member of the Volkswagen Group to admit in court to being involved in the diesel scandal. Prior to this, the court promised him a suspended sentence instead of a real one if he confesses and pays a fine of 1.1 million euros (more than 96 million rubles). The proposal of the court had already been approved by the prosecutor’s office, and the case remained for the recognition of the former top manager.
Stadler, who has been with Volkswagen since 1994, has previously maintained his innocence — until this spring, when a probation could be secured through a confession. According to prosecutors, he should have pleaded guilty no later than July 2016, but he continued to work and sell cars until his arrest in 2018.
