Suspended Audi chief faces another week in jail

Bloomberg

Rupert Stadler, Audi’s suspended chief executive officer, is facing at least another week in a German prison over the carmaker’s diesel scandal, as an ex-manager who oversaw engine development was released on bail after nine months.
Defense attorneys and investigators scheduled meetings to allow Stadler to answer questions for next week, and he will remain in custody for now, Karin Jung, spokeswoman for Munich prosecutors said in an interview. Former Audi manager Wolfgang Hatz, who worked closely with Stadler, was released on Tuesday on 3 million euros ($3.5 million) bail.
Stadler, who became a suspect in the probe at the end of May, was arrested a week ago. He was first questioned June 20, but the interviews were adjourned to allow his lawyers to assess the evidence before deciding whether to resume talks.
In his first interrogation, prosecutors had quizzed Stadler over the fraud allegations against him and their suspicions — from a wire tapped phone call — that he threatened to suspend an Audi employee who had testified in the criminal probe, two people familiar with the case have said.
The arrest of the 55-year-old marks the highest-profile detention since Volkswagen AG’s cheating scandal erupted when the carmaker admitted to a worldwide scheme that rigged 11 million vehicles to bypass emissions tests.