MANILA: Abraham Schot, has been appointed as the new Interim Chairman at Audi. Earlier to this, he was the head of Sales & Marketing. The now ex-CEO has been taken into custody owing to the Volkswagen emissions scandal and was charged with fraud and misrepresentation.

Stadler was leading Audi since 2010 and post the recent scandal took the decision of discharging himself as a member of the board in both the companies and related firms. The official statement of the company said: “This release applies temporarily until the circumstances that led to his arrest have been clarified.”

Although a final verdict has not been released yet and there is still a presumption of innocence is still applicable to Stadler. The company refused to comment any further as it is an ongoing investigation. The public prosecutors also hinted on ‘evidence suppression’.

Stadler’s private residence in Germany was raided just a week ago by the German Police and members of the Munich public prosecutor’s office. And it isn’t surprising that Stadler was arrested one week after the raids.

German media houses also suggested that new evidence has seen the light of the day. After questioning of former Audi officials and Stadler A possible diesel emission manipulation since 2012 is hinted. Volkswagen was caught 3 years ago with illegal software to cheat U.S diesel emission tests.

Rupert Stadler is still in custody but has not been charged with the crime. Prior to his arrest, his phones were tapped by authorities. Volkswagen has already set a reserve of approximately $30 billion for lawsuits that are arising from the scandal. VW is working to get their reputation back by spending billions in R&D for electric vehicles.