Porsche’s powertrain development head, Jörg Kerner, has been arrest following a raid on offices and homes belonging to high ranking officials from the German car maker. The raid was conducted by lawyers and staff of the Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office and the German police.
Based on information from the Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office, the 48-year-old German engineer was taken into custody on April 19, 2018 on suspicion of fraud related to the dieselgate emission manipulation scandal.
Earlier this week, German media reports suggested Porsche R&D head, Michael Steiner, was also among the officials being investigated for possible involvement and/or knowledge of matters related to the manipulation of diesel emission figures via secret software programs.
An official statement issued on Friday regarding the allegations levelled at Porsche employees relating to the fitment of so-called defeat devices in various diesel models, including the Macan and Cayenne, Porsche chairman, Oliver Blume said, "Porsche does not develop or produce any diesel engines or diesel software. The prosecution has accused Porsche of being aware that impermissible control equipment was installed. We reject this accusation."