The Wirecard criminal trial for what is believed to be the largest case of fraud in Germany since 1945 begins in Munich on Thursday. The public prosecutor’s office accuses the former Wirecard CEO, the Austrian Markus Braun, and his two co-defendants of forming a criminal gang, falsifying the group balance sheets and overturning lenders To have cheated 3.1 billion euros. The fourth criminal chamber of the Munich district court has scheduled around 100 days of hearings until 2024.
The five-hour reading of the 89-page indictment is essentially scheduled for the first day. Contradictory statements by the accused are foreseeable even before the trial begins: Ex-CEO Braun rejects the allegations. Oliver Bellenhaus, on the other hand, the former head of the Wirecard subsidiary in Dubai, is serving as a key witness for the public prosecutor. According to the defense, Bellenhaus wants to testify cooperatively and face up to his responsibility. Both are in custody. The third accused is the former chief accountant of the Wirecard Group. He is expected to refuse to testify in court.
The Wirecard investigations are far from over, even if the process is now beginning. The former sales manager Jan Marsalek (Maršálek), another key figure, is still on the run. It is believed that the Austrian went into hiding in Moscow.
