Its former president and CEO Audiits subsidiary Volkswagenwho is tried in Germany under The Tizelgate casepleads guilty to responsibility in the diesel emissions tampering scandal, his defense said today in the Munich court where he is on trial.

According to a brief statement read by lawyer Ulrike Tolle-Grol, Rupert Stadler said he “accepted” cars with unapproved software for sale and “did not inform Volkswagen partners of this.”

The former head of Audi, aged 60, is the main defendant in the first criminal trial that began in Germany in connection with the global Dieselgate scandal.

When asked after a short speech in defense, Rupert Stadler affirmatively confirmed the read text.

Stadler has been on trial for two and a half years along with other former Volkswagen executives and has so far denied the charges against him.

But negotiations with a Munich court a few weeks ago changed the situation: Rupert Stadler agreed to plead guilty and, in exchange for a full confession of guilt, receive a less severe sentence than the ten years in prison he threatened.

Stadler, who studied economics, is accused not of organizing fraud, but of knowing about the installation of illegal software and doing nothing to stop this practice, continuing to support the sale of cars with counterfeit software.

According to his lawyer, the defendant “expressed regret” that he “could not resolve the crisis” within Volkswagen related to unauthorized engine software, and therefore accepted criminal liability for it.

The court is expected to deliver its verdict in June. The former chairman and CEO are expected to receive a maximum two-year suspended prison sentence and a €1.1 million fine if the court’s proposal is accepted.

In September 2015, the Volkswagen Group admitted that it had installed software on 11 million of its company’s vehicles, making them appear less polluting in lab tests than they really are.

“Dieselgate” caused a worldwide scandal and tarnished the reputation of the German car industry.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}