the central point - Wirecard-Process: Judge doesn't believe third defendant
In the Wirecard process, the former chief accountant of the company found himself in declarative distress. On Monday, the presiding judge Markus Fodisch confronted the defendant E. with significant inconsistencies in the Wirecard business figures: The company had frequently published preliminary results before the three key partner companies had even fully submitted their business figures. "That's the central point," said Fodisch to the 49-year-old, who had previously been responsible for compiling the balance sheet figures.
Fodisch presented the defense with a comprehensive analysis by the prosecution. For example, Wirecard published a preliminary financial report for the third quarter of 2016 on October 26, 2016. However, the three partner companies Senjo, Al Alam, and Payeasy only transmitted their business figures via email in November. This delay was reportedly not an isolated, but rather a common occurrence, as evidenced by the investigators' table.
Judge focuses on inconsistencies
The three companies processed credit card transactions for Wirecard in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. According to the indictment, this so-called TPA business did not exist, and the prosecution assumes that turnover and profits were fabricated. "Without TPA figures, it was not possible to make the preliminary reports," the presiding judge told the defendant. "That doesn't fit with what you're telling us."
Some data no longer verifiable
The former chief accountant had broken his over one-and-a-half-year silence in the trial last week and made extensive statements to the indictment, but he did not deliver the comprehensive confession demanded by the court. His defense attorney emphasized that the three partner companies had indeed provided figures. However, some of these were obtained via screenshots that the coconspirator and crown witness Oliver Bellenhaus in Dubai sent via the Telegram chat service on his mobile phone - data that is now lost and therefore no longer verifiable. "The final figures were always available in all invoices," the attorney emphasized.
Bellenhaus has largely acknowledged the indictment's allegations, but former CEO Markus Braun has repeatedly denied them in their entirety. The Munich megatrial, which was opened in December 2022, is now going into a nearly four-week summer break.
- The controversy around Wirecard's financial reports has also attracted the attention of the Bavarian authorities, with the Public Prosecutor's Office in Munich playing a significant role in the investigation.
- As the process continues, the service provided by Wirecard and its partners in regions like the Middle East and Southeast Asia is under scrutiny, with allegations of criminality surrounding the company's TPA business.
- In the German court, the defense for the former chief accountant has argued that while some data may be missing or lost, the original business figures from the partner companies were indeed provided to Wirecard.
- The outcome of this high-profile trial in Munich is expected to have significant implications for Finances in Germany and beyond, as well as for the reputation of companies operating in the financial services sector.
- Markus Foditsch, the presiding judge in the Wirecard case, has emphasized the importance of verifiable evidence in the process, highlighting the need for clarity in the face of accusations of financial fraud and criminality.
