Porsche And Audi Offices Raided Over Alleged Emissions Fraud

The German police raided the offices of Porsche and Audi as part of their inquiries into emissions manipulations. Close to 10 offices in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg were searched by around 33 prosecutors and 160 police officers. Moreover, two Audi sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm were also searched by the German police. Last month, the police raided the headquarters of BMW in Munich and Austria. These searches are part of an investigation into the former and current members of Porsche and Audi as they are suspected of fraud and fraudulent advertising as it tried to manipulate emissions control systems of diesel passenger cars.

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According to a statement released by the prosecutor's office, they are looking for three accused from Porsche's executive board. "The three accused consist of one member of Porsche's executive board and one senior manager. The third accused no longer works for Porsche," prosecutors said.

Last month, BMW was sued in the United States over "defeat devices" installed in tens of thousands of vehicles in order to cheat diesel emissions tests. The suit singles out the BMW X5 and 335D model diesel cars sold between 2009 and 2013.

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In February, the German automaker admitted the software was present in some vehicles and said it would recall them for a software update as soon as one was approved by the KBA German vehicle licensing authority.