Munich Regional Court - Court: Wirecard trial extended until December
The Wirecard trial concerning the alleged largest accounting fraud case in German post-war history is dragging on. The Fourth Criminal Chamber of Munich Regional Court I has now scheduled 86 additional trial days until December 19 of this year. This was announced by a court spokesperson on request.
The trial against former CEO Markus Braun, key witness Oliver Bellenhaus and the former chief accountant of the DAX company, which collapsed in 2020, has been running since December 8, 2022. The chamber had originally scheduled 100 trial dates, the last of which would have been January 10 next week. For the period thereafter, Wednesday and Thursday were scheduled as trial days, but no specific dates were planned in the original ruling.
Wirecard collapsed in the summer of 2020 after auditors were unable to locate 1.9 billion euros that should have been recognized in the balance sheet. According to the indictment, the money never existed. Braun and accomplices are said to have acted as a criminal gang to fake transactions in order to keep the loss-making company afloat.
However, Braun, who was remanded in custody in July 2020 - almost three and a half years ago - has declared his innocence. According to the Austrian manager, the real criminals around the former Chief Sales Officer Jan Marsalek, who has gone into hiding, and the key witness Bellenhaus, are said to have put vast sums of money on the side.
Braun and Bellenhaus are accusing each other, and none of the witnesses heard so far have been able to shed any light on the matter. It remains unclear whether the 1.9 billion euros that have been missing since summer 2020 ever existed - and if so, by whom the funds were ultimately misappropriated. The key witness Bellenhaus, who has also been in custody without interruption since July 2020, denies Braun's accusations.
One of the reasons why the investigation is proving so difficult is that the crime scenes were largely located in Asia: in Dubai, Singapore, the Philippines and other Asian countries. The court has summoned numerous witnesses from abroad in recent months, but they have not appeared.
So far, mainly former employees of the former Wirecard headquarters in Aschheim near Munich have testified. However, Braun's former subordinates have all stated that they knew nothing about the billion-euro fraud.
The first witnesses in the new year will now be the former head of the legal department of Wirecard Bank on January 10, followed by a former sales manager the next day.
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- The investigation into Wirecard's accounting fraud case, considered the largest in Germany's post-war history, is being handled by the Criminal Chamber of the Munich Regional Court.
- Despite originally scheduling 100 trial days, the Wirecard trial against former CEO Markus Braun, key witness Oliver Bellenhaus, and others has been extended until December 19, requiring 86 additional trial days.
- Services provided by professional legal and financial organizations in Germany are essential in managing complex processes such as the Wirecard trial, which involves fraudulent activities associated with Criminality.
- Located in Bavaria, Munich Regional Court is a crucial entity in the region's justice system, handling multiple processes, including high-profile cases like the Wirecard trial.
- Oliver Bellenhaus, a key witness in the Wirecard trial, hails from Munich and has been in custody without interruption since July 2020, just like former CEO Markus Braun.
- The finance industry in Germany has been greatly impacted by the Wirecard case, with fraudulent activities potentially exposing underlying vulnerabilities in the country's post-war economic development.
- Olaf Albert, a prosecutor in the Wirecard trial, is among the prominent legal figures in Munich, demonstrating the city's commitment to providing high-quality services and justice within the realm of German Criminal chamber processes.
Source: www.stern.de
