Ex-VW Diesel Engineer Arrested in Emission Cheating Probe

Prosecutors in Munich have arrested Wolfgang Hatz, the former head of powertrains for Volkswagen AG, as part of their investigation into VW’s diesel emission cheating, according to media reports.

Hatz (pictured) is the highest-ranking VW official to date who has been taken into custody. He ran product development for VW’s Porsche unit before leaving the company last year. He previously headed VW powertrain operations during the period when the company rigged 11 million of its diesel engines to circumvent emission laws.

Prosecutors said earlier today they also arrested a second, unidentified person linked to Audi’s role in the cheating. So far this year, authorities in the U.S. and Germany have apprehended three lower-level current or former VW Group employees accused of participating in the conspiracy.

In August engineer James Liang was fined $200,000 and sentenced to 40 months in prison on similar charges. Last month ex-U.S. certification chief Oliver Schmidt pleaded guilty in a Detroit federal court of violating emission laws and misleading regulators about the cheating. Schmidt will be sentenced on Dec. 6.

The U.S. Dept. of Justice has issued Interpol arrest warrants for five other VW Group executives suspected of aiding the plot. The department also hopes to extradite Giovanni Pamio, a former diesel engineering manager at Audi, who was arrested in July by German authorities.