Ex Audi executive nabbed in Croatia on dieselgate warrant

The scandal erupted in 2015 when Volkswagen, which owns Audi, acknowledged that 11 million vehicles had been sold that gave better results during pollution tests than in actual use.

Former Audi and VW director Axel Eiser has been arrested in Croatia in connection with the "dieselgate" engine emission scandal, a police source said Tuesday.

Croatian authorities detained Eiser on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by the United States, which has indicted him on charges that stem from software designed to fool emissions tests.

The scandal erupted in 2015 when Volkswagen, which owns Audi, acknowledged that 11 million vehicles had been sold that gave better results during pollution tests than in actual use.

Eiser was a former head of Audi's engine department, and is one of several executives, including former VW boss Martin Winterkorn, who have been charged in the US.

He was arrested "on June 9 at the Kastel border post" while entering Croatia from Slovenia, the Croatian interior ministry told AFP.

Eiser was indicted by US justice officials in January 2019, and a Croatian magistrate ordered he be held in Pula, northwestern Croatia, following notification of the German embassy.

The scandal has cost VW, the world's biggest automaker with a dozen brands, more than 30 billion euros ($34 billion), for the most part in the US.

The first major penal trial related to the affair is to begin in Germany in September, with former Audi boss Rupert Stadler facing charges of fraud, publishing false documents, and false advertising.