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Wirecard trial: Ex-boss Braun in court - where did the money go?
Insolvency administrator Jaffé is being heard as an important witness in the Wirecard trial. Former boss Braun is on trial for fraud.
Wirecard trial: Ex-boss Braun in court - where did the money go?
The Wirecard process has now dragged on for five years and is once again in the public eye. The Wirecard Group, once a respected company in the DAX, collapsed in 2020 due to the scandalous lack of 1.8 billion euros. At the center of the action is former CEO Markus Braun, who has been in custody for almost five years.
On the next court day, insolvency administrator Michael Jaffé will be heard as an important witness. He has been tasked with looking for assets for creditors since Wirecard's collapse. To date, however, he has been unable to find any trace of the missing money. Jaffé is of the opinion that there was widespread fraud at Wirecard, while the public prosecutor's office assumes that there were fictitious transactions in which the money never existed. Braun is accused of being a key member of the fraud gang, but sees himself as an innocent victim and claims that the missing billions were stolen by sales director Jan Marsalek.
Court awards damages
In a recent judgment, Markus Braun and other board members of the Wirecard Group were sentenced to pay millions in damages to the insolvency administrator. This judgment comes from Judge Helmut Krenek in Munich. The board members breached their duties when granting an unsecured loan of 100 million euros to a company in Singapore. Despite legal advice, they failed to carry out a thorough financial audit and negligently underwrote bonds.
In total, the insolvency administrator has asserted claims for damages totaling 140 million euros plus interest against company representatives. Jaffé argues that Braun and other managers at Ocap borrowed €200 million in breach of duty, of which only €60 million was repaid. It is also important to note that a lawsuit against a member of the supervisory board was dismissed.
Legal consequences and ongoing investigations
The legal repercussions of the Wirecard scandal are enormous. In addition to the civil claims by Jaffé and injured investors against the Wirecard managers and auditors, criminal charges are also pending against Braun and two other ex-managers. These include accounting falsification, fraud, market manipulation and breach of trust. The public prosecutor's office makes serious allegations, which are based, among other things, on a confession by Oliver Bellenhaus. However, Braun and his co-defendant Stephan von Erffa see themselves as victims of Bellenhaus and Marsalek, the former board member who has gone into hiding.
The Wirecard trial highlights the enormous difficulties that arise when solving complex financial fraud cases. The coming interrogations, especially those of the insolvency administrator Jaffé, could provide crucial insights and hold those responsible accountable. The development remains exciting.