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Wirecard logo at the Gamescom trade fair (archive image)
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Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters
One of the most important characters in the crime story about the former Dax group Wirecard is not released for the time being.
Oliver B. initially set up the bank subsidiary for the payment processor and has been the company's governor in Dubai for the past few years.
There he was responsible for business with so-called third-party partners who play a central role in the alleged fraud of billions.
Oliver B. was also considered a close confidante of the fugitive ex-board member Jan Marsalek.
On July 6 of last year, shortly after Wirecard had to admit a balance sheet hole of 1.9 billion euros, B. presented himself to the Munich public prosecutor and gave a comprehensive testimony.
Six months later, a detention test was due.
The public prosecutor's office requested that the arrest warrant be maintained, which the Munich Higher Regional Court granted.
There is still a risk of escape and blackout, the court justified.
Markus Braun is heavily burdened
The decision could indicate that the public prosecutors do not fully trust the statements made by Oliver B. so far or see contradictions to other results of the investigation.
Investigators often see a risk of fleeing if an inmate faces a long prison sentence, is not domiciled in Germany and has many international contacts - all of this applies to B.
There is a risk of obscuration, for example, if alleged accomplices are on the run, like Jan Marsalek here, and agreements could be made.
Attorney Florian Eder, who represents B., is not surprised by the continued detention.
"We deliberately did not take action against the arrest warrant," Eder told SPIEGEL.
His client contributed to the clarification.
"But we are aware that there is still a lot to be verified and that in view of the criminal offenses still in the room, reasons for imprisonment can still be justified."
B. had, among other things, heavily burdened the former CEO Markus Braun.
The investigators therefore see Braun as the head of a gang that Marsalek should also belong to.
The gang is said to have eased the group by hundreds of millions of euros.
In the meantime, Braun has also been questioned about half a dozen times; he rejects the allegations made against him.
For Braun, too, the public prosecutor's office has applied for a continuation of the detention that began on July 22, 2020, but the court's review is likely to drag on for a while.
In a quarter of a year, the court will re-examine whether B. and possibly also Braun and the former chief accountant who was also imprisoned must continue to be incarcerated.
In all cases, indictments are not expected before the end of the year at the earliest.
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