A federal judge on Thursday ordered the detainment of a Volkwagen AG (VW) [corporate website] executive charged in the company’s emissions scandal. Judge Sean Cox of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan [official website] held that Oliver Schmidt should be held until his trial next year as he represented a flight risk. Schmidt is a former chief of VW’s environmental and engineering center who was arrested in January in Miami while attempting to return to Germany. Cox ruled [Reuters report] that in the face of the serious allegations for this matter, “there is a serious risk that Mr. Schmidt will not appear in this case.” The defense had offered [Detroit News report] a combined 1.6 million in assets for bail and asked that Schmidt be confined to his home and wear a GPS tracking device. Schmidt’s trial is set to begin in January where he will face 11 felony counts with a maximum sentence of 169 years in prison.

VW and their employees have been in the spotlight around the world over the emissions scandal. Earlier this month VW agreed to plead not guilty and pay billions of dollars [JURIST report] to correct their 3.0 liter diesel engine vehicles. In December the EU decided to take action [JURIST report] against seven member states over the emissions scandal. A US judge approved [JURIST report] a $14.7 billion settlement in October between VW and the US Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the state of California and car owners who filed a class action lawsuit over the company’s emissions scandal. In September the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sued [JURIST report] VW and its local subsidiary for misleading customers. In August a district court in Germany ruled [JURIST report] that a collective complaint against VW may move forward. Like US-style class-action lawsuits, the collective complaint was launched on behalf of multiple investors who lost money following the diesel emissions cheating scandal. In July a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California gave preliminary approval [JURIST report] to a $15 billion settlement between VW and the US Environmental Protection Agency, California officials and consumers. In June VW agreed [JURIST report] to spend up to $14.7 billion to settle allegations of cheating emissions tests and deceiving customers in a settlement with US regulators. In March the US Federal Trade Commission filed suit [JURIST report] against VW for false advertising.