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Prosecutors bring charges against ex-Wirecard boss Braun
STORY: The public prosecutor considers the former Wirecard boss Markus Braun to be one of the main people responsible for the years of balance sheet fraud at the collapsed payment processor. After more than a year and a half of extensive investigations, the Munich I public prosecutor brought charges against Braun and two other Wirecard managers, as a spokeswoman said on Monday. The investigators accuse Braun and his managers of accounting fraud, market manipulation, breach of trust in several cases and commercial gang fraud. Chief Public Prosecutor Anne Leiding: “The accused have worked with other parties outside and within Wirecard AG for years to ensure that they are perceived externally as a rapidly growing, successful FinTech company that even rose to the Dax 30. In fact, this extremely profitable business, especially in Asia, was simply invented.” Braun, who has been in custody since July 2020, again rejected the allegations. He sees himself as a victim of a gang that has embezzled millions of dollars behind his back, as a spokesman for his defense attorneys said. The longtime Wirecard boss sees himself as a victim of his board colleague and confidant Jan Marsalek, who has been on the run since June 2020. The Austrian is wanted worldwide, he is suspected in Russia. Now the Munich regional court is on the train. If it considers the allegations to be plausible and the indictment allows, the trial before the White Collar Crimes Chamber could begin in the fall.
According to the indictment, Braun and his managers worked for years to make the company appear more successful than it actually was.