Public prosecutor's office - Former Wirecard CFO indicted
The Munich public prosecutor's office has now also brought charges against a former Wirecard CFO. One year after the start of the trial against the CEO Markus Braun, the public prosecutor's office also considers the former CFO to be guilty of commercial and gang fraud, market manipulation, misrepresentation and breach of trust. The public prosecutor's office announced on Thursday that the 12th Commercial Criminal Chamber of the Munich Regional Court would have to decide whether to admit the charges and set a trial date.
The payment service provider Wirecard, which is listed on the leading DAX index, collapsed in the summer of 2020 because 1.9 billion euros in proceeds allegedly held in Southeast Asian escrow accounts could not be traced. Former CEO Braun, who is in custody, and two co-defendants have been on trial at Munich Regional Court since December 2022 on suspicion of fraud with billions of euros in losses for the lending banks. Braun denies all allegations.
In its indictment, the public prosecutor's office accuses the former Wirecard CFO of faking group sales with Braun and others. The fictitious financial figures were intended to boost share prices and obtain bank loans. The accused, a predecessor of the fugitive Jan Marsalek, had signed the false annual financial statements for 2015 and 2016 as CFO. As a result of his actions, the banks suffered losses amounting to several hundred million euros.
After leaving the Group in 2018, he "continued to aid and abet the crimes of misrepresentation, market manipulation and commercial and gang fraud committed by the remaining gang members in 2018 by providing consulting services". In addition, he was guilty of breach of trust towards Wirecard AG by assuming a guarantee for a loan from Wirecard Bank through Wirecard AG.
Read also:
- A clan member is punished here
- Traffic lawyer warns: Don't talk to the police!
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
- The charges against the former Wirecard CFO are a continuation of the process that began with the indictment of the company's CEO, Markus Braun, by the Munich public prosecutor's office.
- The DAX-listed payment service provider Wirecard has been at the center of various processes related to allegations of commercial and gang fraud, market manipulation, and misrepresentation.
- The Munich Regional Court is responsible for deciding whether to admit the charges against the former Wirecard CFO, as per the instructions of the public prosecutor's office munich.
- The services provided by the former CFO post his departure from Wirecard continue to be considered as part of an ongoing investigation into market manipulation and commercial fraud within the company.
- Germany's financial industry has been impacted significantly by the criminality uncovered in the Wirecard case, with potential losses in the hundreds of millions of euros for the lending banks involved.
- The public prosecutor's office in Munich has highlighted the seriousness of the situation by pursuing charges against both the former and current senior executives of Wirecard.
- The alleged actions of the former Wirecard CFO, carried out in Bavaria, will be central to the case against him, as the faking of financial figures impacted the company's standing in both Germany and the international financial market.
- The charges against the former Wirecard CFO for market manipulation and other criminal activities have brought attention to the need for increased oversight and transparency in the financial services sector throughout Europe, including Germany.
Source: www.stern.de
