Wirecard: Third defendant wants to break silence

Processes - Wirecard: Third defendant wants to break silence

In the Munich Wirecard process, a milestone has been reached after over one and a half years: The third defendant E., who has been silent since the beginning of the trial in December 2022, will speak for the first time about the accusations on July 17. The presiding judge Markus Födisch announced this at the beginning of the 134th court session. The former chief accountant of the collapsed company had confirmed his personal details at the start of the trial but had remained silent on the matter in the course of the lengthy proceedings. In return, the IV. Criminal Chamber of the Munich Regional Court, under Födisch's leadership, has indicated a prison sentence of between six and eight years for E. if he confesses.

It is still unclear whether the former chief accountant will admit or deny the accusations in his statement. E.'s defense attorney Sabine Stetter wanted to make a statement later in the morning.

The main charge against E., the former Wirecard board chairman Markus Braun, and the manager who worked for Wirecard in Dubai until 2020, Oliver Bellenhaus, is commercial fraud: The three are accused of having invented billions in assets together with several accomplices to keep their actually loss-making company afloat.

The Munich Prosecutor's Office estimates the damage caused by the fraud at around three billion Euros in their indictment. So far, testimony has followed testimony in the trial: The defendant Braun, who has been in pre-trial detention for four years, denies all the accusations as the main defendant. Bellenhaus, on the other hand, has admitted most of the accusations.

1. During the Start of trial in December 2022, Markus Braun, the former Wirecard board chairman, started by confirming his personal details, but refrained from discussing the accusations throughout the Processes.
2. The Milestone in the Wirecard case unfolded in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with the third defendant E. set to break his silence on July 17, after over a year and a half of trials.
3. The company's collapse and the subsequent fraud charges have brought unwanted attention to the Services that Wirecard previously offered, tarnishing its reputation in the financial world of Germany.
4. As the trial continues, there is speculation about the financial repercussions of this Crime on Wirecard, with the Munich Prosecutor's Office estimating damages of around three billion Euros.
5. The case in Munich has become a significant event, not only in the financial scene of Bavaria and Germany but also a crucial Marker in European corporate accountability and transparency discussions.

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