A US court on Wednesday sentenced former Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt to seven years in prison for his role in the German automaker's "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal.

Schmidt, who led Volkswagen's US regulatory compliance office from 2012 to March 2015, was also ordered by a federal judge in Detroit to pay a $400,000 fine.

He had pleaded guilty in August to charges he conspired to commit fraud and violate the US Clean Air Act.

Schmidt, 48, the second and most senior employee to plead guilty in the affair, is among seven current and former VW executives that US prosecutors have charged so far. 

In exchange for his plea, federal prosecutors dropped multiple counts of wire fraud, which carry a maximum of 20 years in prison.