Ex-Wirecard boss on trial in fraud case that shamed Germany

BERLIN –

The former chief government of economic providers firm Wirecard and two different ex-managers went on trial Thursday over the agency’s collapse in what has been described as the largest case of fraud in post-war Germany.

Wirecard was lengthy the darling of Germany’s fintech scene till it filed insolvency proceedings in 2020, saying 1.9 billion euros that had been on its steadiness sheet couldn’t be discovered.

The case uncovered flaws in Germany’s monetary oversight our bodies and embarrassed then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had lobbied on behalf of the corporate throughout a go to to China.

Prosecutors in Munich allege that ex-CEO Markus Braun signed off on monetary reviews he knew had been false. The agency allegedly booked nonexistent income it attributed to a number of partnerships in different international locations and used faux paperwork to point out it had funds that it didn’t, they stated.

The agency’s former head of accounting and the managing director of a Dubai-based subsidiary are additionally on trial.

The fraud price banks 3.1 billion euros in loans and writedowns, in keeping with prosecutors.

One of the central figures within the case, the corporate’s former chief working officer Jan Marsalek, stays on the run.

Braun’s attorneys has stated the costs towards his shopper are “seriously flawed” and “assumed a false picture of the facts.” They declare Braun was unaware of machinations by others.

The advanced trial is predicted to run for greater than a yr.