BERLIN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Investigators from the Munich State Prosecution Office searched the apartments and one office of five former Audi employees on Thursday.
This marks the third time since March 2017 that Bavarian state prosecutors targeted the Ingolstadt-based luxury car maker in connection with the ongoing "dieselgate" scandal. Two of the suspects affected by the latest raids were former high-ranking Audi executives, a spokesperson for the Munich State Prosecution Office confirmed.
So far, investigators have named 17 suspects who are believed to have been involved in the installation of illegal software to falsify the nitrogen oxide emission levels of diesel vehicles.
According to the prosecution office, at least 210,000 cars affected by such "emissions cheating" practices were sold in the United States and Europe as from 2009. As such, Audi stands accused of counts of fraud and illicit advertising under German law.
Reacting to the news on Thursday, a spokesperson for Audi emphasized that no raids had taken place at any of its corporate locations.
Only one suspect in the "dieselgate" investigation against Audi is currently in police custody. The former director of the car maker's motor development division was arrested in September 2017.
