German Prosecutors Search Daimler Offices in Diesel Emissions Inquiry -
By MELISSA EDDY and AMIE TSANGMAY 23, 2017
BERLIN — German prosecutors searched the offices of Daimler, the automaker
that produces Mercedes cars, on Tuesday as part of an investigation into whether the company improperly evaded emissions rules.
In a separate statement, Daimler said the raids were because of “suspicion of fraud
and criminal advertising relating to the possible manipulation of exhaust-gas aftertreatment in passenger cars with diesel engines.”
The company said it was cooperating with the office of the Stuttgart public prosecutor, but it did not comment further.
In the case of Daimler, prosecutors in the German city of Stuttgart said they had raided 11 of the company’s locations, searching for digital and analogue documents
that could serve as evidence in their investigation of allegations of fraud and illegal advertising in connection with the company’s diesel cars.
Twenty-three prosecutors, working with 230 state and local police officers, carried out the raids across Germany, including in Baden-Württemberg, where Daimler has its headquarters; in Berlin;
and in the states of Lower Saxony and Saxony, the authorities said in a statement.
The raids signal a deepening inquiry into Daimler, which had already said
that several federal and state authorities in Europe and the United States were investigating the emissions control systems used in Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
The European Union has charged the Italian government with allowing Fiat Chrysler to sell cars with software intended to evade emissions tests,
and it has begun investigating possible oversights in other countries, including Britain and Germany.