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Markus Braun 2019: 474 pages of indictment
Photo: Matthias Schrader/AP
It took more than two years after the bankruptcy, now the former CEO of the payment processor Wirecard, Markus Braun, comes to court.
The fourth criminal chamber of the Munich I Regional Court has allowed the lawsuit against Braun and two other ex-Managers of Wirecard to remain unchanged, as the Munich Higher Regional Court announced.
Das Wirtschaftsstrafverfahren dürfte eines der größten in der deutschen Geschichte werden. Ein Termin für den Prozessbeginn steht nach Angaben des Gerichts steht noch nicht fest.
Die Staatsanwaltschaft wirft Braun, seinem Bilanzchef Stephan von Erffa und dem Statthalter von Wirecard in Dubai, Oliver Bellenhaus, in der 474 Seiten starken Anklageschrift Bilanzfälschung, Marktmanipulation, Untreue in mehreren Fällen und gewerbsmäßigen Bandenbetrug vor. Braun, der seit Juli 2020 in Untersuchungshaft sitzt, weist die Vorwürfe zurück.
340 Firmen, 450 Personen, mehr als 1100 Bankverbindungen
The Wirecard boardroom is said to have booked bogus transactions in the billions over the years in order to keep the company, which was then listed in the Dax, afloat and to cheat loans.
The consolidated financial statements for the years 2015 to 2018 are said to have been deliberately false and would have incorrectly reflected the circumstances of the group.
The former Dax group Wirecard collapsed in 2020 after admitting sham bookings of 1.9 billion euros.
In March, the public prosecutor's office brought the now approved charges against the three managers.
The former Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek, who was also seriously accused, went into hiding.
The forthcoming process is likely to be complex and lengthy.
According to their own statements, the public prosecutor's office has identified and checked 340 companies, 450 people and more than 1100 bank accounts as relevant for their indictment.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the accused had simply invented extremely profitable businesses so that Wirecard was perceived as a successful company.
Apr/Reuters/AFP
