{"id":259635,"date":"2023-02-13T18:22:37","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T00:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=259635"},"modified":"2023-02-14T14:42:07","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T20:42:07","slug":"wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/","title":{"rendered":"Wirecard Boss Rejects All Charges in Germany\u2019s Fraud Trial of the Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun<\/a> denied he was part of a \u201ccriminal gang\u201d Monday. He was testifying in a Munich courtroom in Germany\u2019s biggest postwar fraud trial.<\/p>\n

\"Markus
Markus Braun, above, sporting his trademark black blazer-turtleneck combo in court on Monday. He described Wirecard\u2019s 2020 implosion as an unanticipated \u201cday of pain.\u201d (Image: Angelika Warmuth\/dpa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was the first time the 53-year-old Austrian had spoken at length in public since his 2020 arrest on charges that followed the spectacular collapse of fintech giant Wirecard.<\/p>\n

Dressed in his trademark black blazer over a black turtleneck sweater, Braun denied knowing the counterfeiting and embezzlement that had occurred in the lead-up to its collapse.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Braun is on trial<\/a>\u00a0in Munich with two other former Wirecard execs, Oliver Bellenhaus and Stephan von Erffa. Charges include market manipulation and \u201cgang-related fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trial is expected to run into 2024. Each defendant faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.<\/p>\n

$2 Billion Black Hole<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once a processor of online gambling and porn transactions, Wirecard became the leading light of German fintech with a US$28 billion market cap. That was until a $2 billion hole appeared on its balance sheet.<\/p>\n

\n

Braun described that day Monday as \u201ca shock\u201d and a \u201cday of pain\u201d and spoke of his \u201cprofound regret\u201d for employees and shareholders. Until that moment, he said, he believed he was in charge of a completely legitimate business.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In June 2020, auditor Ernst & Young reported that the US$2 billion in cash balances mentioned in Wirecards\u2019 accounts appeared to be missing. The money was supposed to sit in trustee accounts at two Philippine banks. But the banks denied Wirecard was even a client.<\/p>\n

Days later, the board admitted the money \u201clikely never existed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors claim Braun and his codefendants cooked the books and invented bogus revenue streams to make a losing company appear profitable.<\/p>\n

Braun\u2019s account is wholly different than the picture painted by his fellow defendant, Bellenhaus, who also happens to be the government\u2019s star witness.<\/p>\n

‘Autocratic’ CEO<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The former head of Wirecard\u2019s Dubai subsidiary has admitted his complicity in the accountancy fraud scheme and expressed \u201cdeep regret.\u201d<\/p>\n

But testifying in December, Bellenhaus said he was acting out of blind loyalty to Braun, whom he described as an \u201cautocratic chief executive\u201d\u00a0who \u201cgave the marching orders.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bellenhaus told the court that Braun knew everything that went on at Wirecard and was obsessed with creating the illusion that the company was more successful than it really was.<\/p>\n

Russian Intelligence\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Braun\u2019s legal team claims Bellenhaus is an unreliable witness and “a main perpetrator in a gang whose sole aim was to embezzle money.” Meanwhile, they are pointing the finger at the company\u2019s former COO, Jan Marsalek, as the scheme’s mastermind.<\/p>\n

\n

On Monday, Braun said he had admired Marsalek and had been instrumental in promoting him to the board. He claimed he barely knew Bellenhaus, adding he had wanted to fire him when he went on vacation during a KPMG special audit into the accounts as the company teetered on the brink.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Marsalek fled Germany as Wirecard collapsed, traveling to Belarus and then onto Moscow. He is believed to have connections to Russian intelligence agencies and is one of the world\u2019s most wanted fugitives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun denied he was part of a \u201ccriminal gang\u201d Monday. He was testifying in a Munich courtroom in Germany\u2019s biggest postwar fraud trial. It was the first time the 53-year-old Austrian had spoken at length in public since his 2020 arrest on charges that followed the spectacular collapse of fintech giant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":259638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,60],"tags":[84010,84011],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWirecard Boss Rejects Charges in German Fraud Trial of the Century<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Markus Braun, former Wirecard CEO, says he was shocked when he learned of the accountancy fraud in his own company.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wirecard Boss Rejects Charges in German Fraud Trial of the Century\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Markus Braun, former Wirecard CEO, says he was shocked when he learned of the accountancy fraud in his own company.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-14T00:22:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-14T20:42:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/braun.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1757\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1285\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/\",\"name\":\"Wirecard Boss Rejects Charges in German Fraud Trial of the Century\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/braun.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-14T00:22:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-14T20:42:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Markus Braun, former Wirecard CEO, says he was shocked when he learned of the accountancy fraud in his own company.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wirecard-boss-rejects-charges-in-german-fraud-trial-of-the-century\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/braun.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/braun.jpg\",\"width\":1757,\"height\":1285,\"caption\":\"Markus Braun, above, sporting his trademark black blazer-turtleneck combo in court on Monday. 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