Stuttgart Initiates Probe Into Porsche AG Employees' Role in Volkswagen Scandal

The Stuttgart prosecutor's office launched a probe against the unknown employees of German sports car maker Porsche AG and its US subsidiary in connection with Volkswagen Group's diesel scandal, commonly referred to as "Dieselgate", the Stuttgart prosecutor's office said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The statement added that the employees were suspected of fraud and false advertising, but noted that no further information would be given due to the ongoing investigations.

"The Stuttgart public prosecutor's office has initiated an investigation against unknown employees of the automobile manufacturer and a US subsidiary in connection with possible manipulation of exhaust gas aftertreatment on diesel passenger cars of Porsche AG," the Stuttgart prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Earlier on Friday, a former manager of an automobile manufacturer Audi, Giovanni Pamio, has been charged with conspiring to defraud the United States by ordering his employees to create and implement secret software in order to cheat diesel emissions tests to meet US emissions requirements.

The public scandal around Volkswagen Group, which includes the Audi, Bentley, Porsche, SEAT and Skoda brands, arouse in September 2015, when the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused the company of using software to falsify emission test results for its diesel-engine cars. Volkswagen engineer James Liang pleaded guilty to charges of fraud by concealing emission test rigging software from US regulators. The multinational corporation would reportedly have to pay more than 22 billion euros ($24 billion) to cover fines and compensations related to the Dieselgate scandal.