UPDATE: Audi Names Interim CEO after Stadler Arrest in Diesel Scandal

Prosecutors in Munich say Rupert Stadler, CEO of Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit, was arrested and jailed earlier today to prevent him from obstructing their investigation into diesel emission cheating.

Audi’s supervisory board reportedly has named Bram Schot, who heads Audi marketing and sales, as interim CEO. Schot was among four executives appointed to the management board last September in the wake of revelations about Audi’s role in the VW diesel cheating crisis. Schot formerly headed marketing and sales for VW’s commercial vehicle operations.

Last week prosecutors identified Stadler, 55, as a person of interest in their widening probe and said they had searched his home in Ingolstadt. Reuters reported at the time that officials also raided the home of Bernd Martens, who heads Audi purchasing and has managed Audi’s handling of the issue with VW Group.

Prosecutors say a judge ordered that Stadler be held in custody to preclude him from suppressing evidence being collected about the scandal. Stadler joined the Audi board in 2003 and has chaired its management board since 2007. He has faced strong criticism of his handling of the diesel crisis for more than a year.

Prosecutors say today’s arrest was not made at the request of U.S. authorities, who last month filed criminal charges against former VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn. Germany does not allow its citizens to be extradited beyond the European Union.