The trial of former executives regarding the bankruptcy of Wirecard, known as the biggest financial scandal in Germany’s history, began at the Munich State Court.
In the hearing, which started under high security measures in the hall near Stadelheim Prison, Markus Braun, former chief executive (CEO) of Wirecard AG, and two former executives of the company are on trial.
In the indictment read out at the first hearing of the case, the prosecution accused the defendants of forming a criminal gang, fraudulent in the company’s balance sheet and defrauding the company’s creditors of more than 3 billion euros.
Arrested, Braun denied the allegations against him. It was also stated that Oliver Bellenhaus, the former manager of the company Wirecard established in Dubai, will cooperate with the prosecutor’s office regarding the accusations.
While it is reported that 100 hearings are planned in the case, the decision is not expected before 2024.
THE BIGGEST FINANCIAL SCANDAL IN GERMANY SINCE 1945
German prosecutors questioned more than 450 people, searched more than 40 properties and scanned 42 terabytes of data with a special police team following the bankruptcy of Wirecard, which shocked the country’s political and financial institutions.
In 2020, Wirecard, which until a few years ago was considered the “future of German financial technology”, became the address of the country’s biggest financial scandal since 1945, after it was revealed that more than 1.9 billion euros had disappeared from the company’s balance sheet.
The company filed for bankruptcy after 3.2 billion euros of debt emerged.
After the scandal, the German Federal Banking Regulatory Agency (BaFin) faced allegations that it failed to audit the financial technology company, and the head of the institution resigned.
In 2020, then Chancellor Angela Merkel and then Finance Minister, current Chancellor Olaf Scholz, were criticized for being inadequate in the company’s oversight.
Founded in 1999, Wirecard’s shareholders included The Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale S.A., Bank of America Corporation and Citigroup.
The scandal came after EY, which oversees Wirecard, did not confirm the previous year’s financial results, claiming that more than 1.9 billion euros were missing from the company’s 2019 accounts.
Shares of Wirecard AG were traded on the Dax 30 Index, which was home to Germany’s largest companies before the bankruptcy.