Police search Audi's HQ over emissions scandalBerlin, Feb 6 (AZINS) German police on Tuesday searched the headquarters of the high-end automobile manufacturer Audi amid an ongoing investigation into the alleged manipulation of pollutant emission levels in diesel vehicles by the Volkswagen group, which owns the brand.

According to the prosecutor's office in Munich, the authorities had obtained a court warrant for searches at Audi's main office in Ingolstadt -- an industrial city located some 500 km to the south of Berlin -- as well as at a manufacturing plant in Neckarsulm and a private residence, Efe reported.

"The focus of the investigation is the use of technical devices to manipulate the emission data for three-liter V6 diesel engines destined for the European market," read the prosecution's statement.

It added that there were 14 people accused of wrongdoing within the framework of a parallel investigation into diesel vehicles sold in the United States, although none of them were current or former Audi executives.

Prosecutors were looking into the commission of possible felonies such as fraud and false advertising in the sale of about 80,000 vehicles in the US between 2009-15.

They were also seeking to impose monetary fines on unnamed Audi executives and on the company itself, for their alleged cooperation or complicity with the crimes.

In January, Germany's federal motor vehicles bureau, under the orders of the transportation ministry, ordered Audi to repair more than 1,27,000 diesel cars containing devices to manipulate emissions data.

Earlier in January, the US auto giant Ford Motor was accused of emissions cheating in a bid to promote its diesel engine trucks.

A class action lawsuit was filed in Michigan, claiming Ford and German auto supplier Bosch knowingly installed emissions-cheating software devices in the 2011-2017 Ford 250 and 350 Super Duty diesel pickup trucks.

Hagens Berman law firm hit Ford and Bosch with a total 58 counts of violations of state consumer laws, false advertising laws, deceptive trade laws as well as violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (RICO).

It added: "Ford did not act alone," but colluded with Bosch in an organised scheme to evade emissions requirements, for sake of profit.