German officials from the Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office searched the premises of Daimler AG at several locations in Germany on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the possible manipulation of exhaust-gas after treatment in passenger cars with diesel engines.
According to a New York Times report, several federal and state authorities in Europe and the United States were investigating the emissions control systems used in Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The report notes that German prosecutors 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.”
In a press release issued on May 23, the automaker said it is “fully cooperating with the authorities.”
According to the release, Daimler AG said it has already provided information on governmental information requests, inquiries and investigations in annual reports and interim reports; in Interim Report Q1 2017, this also included the possibility of searches of Daimler premises.
“Beyond the information contained in this press release, we cannot comment any further on the ongoing preliminary investigations,” the automaker said.
As stated in its first-quarter report, Daimler is facing other investigations. The Department of Justice in the United States had requested that the company conduct an internal inquiry, the carmaker said. The company also said that the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, the California Air Resources Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission had requested information.
