Thursday, September 18, 2025
  • Login
Euro Times
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology
Euro Times
No Result
View All Result

Wirecard boss’s lawyer calls allegations ‘absurd’ in fraud trial By Reuters

by Reuters
December 12, 2022
in Stock Market
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
Home Stock Market
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


© Reuters. Wirecard’s former CEO Markus Braun arrives in the courtroom as his trial continues, after the German payments company collapsed in the wake of a fraud scandal in 2020, in Munich, Germany, December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Lukas Barth

By Jörn Poltz

MUNICH (Reuters) – The former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun began his defence in Germany’s biggest post-war fraud trial on Monday, as his lawyer dismissed allegations of wrongdoing at the defunct payments company as “absurd” and prejudiced.

Braun, 53, and two other managers are on trial on charges including market manipulation and fraud and could be sentenced for up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Braun has always denied wrongdoing.

Wirecard’s collapse two years ago sent shockwaves through the German political establishment and tarnished the country’s business reputation.

At the start of the trial last week, prosecutors accused Braun and others of being part of a gang that invented vast sums of phantom revenue through bogus transactions with partner companies to mislead creditors and investors.

They said the deception allowed Wirecard’s managers to siphon money out of the company for years.

Braun’s lawyer Alfred Dierlamm’s defence sought to puncture those claims in court on Monday. He told the court that Braun had never sold his Wirecard shares and had actually taken the initiative to call in outside auditors from KPMG to investigate Wirecard’s finances.

“It’s an absolutely absurd and erroneous notion that a gang leader would act like this,” Dierlamm told the court.

He said Braun’s case had been prejudiced since Wirecard’s collapse and his client’s arrest in 2020, alleging that the prosecutors were biased and under pressure to find a culprit after another of Wirecard’s managers, Jan Marsalek, fled abroad.

Braun’s lawyer told the court that the prosecution’s key witness was the main perpetrator.

Dierlamm asked for the trial to be suspended to give the defence more time review documents, given the volume of “files that were dumped on our table”.

Founded in 1999 and based in the Munich suburb of Aschheim, Wirecard’s spectacular rise transformed it from a payment processor for pornography and online gambling to a showpiece for a new type of German tech company that could compete with the established titans of Europe’s largest economy.

Its demise shook the German establishment, putting under scrutiny politicians who backed the company and regulators who took years to investigate it.

After batting away suspicions of wrongdoing from investors and journalists and successfully lobbying the German authorities to investigate those who were scrutinising its finances, Wirecard was forced to admit in June 2020 that 1.9 billion euros ($2 billion) were missing from its balance sheet.

Wirecard became the first-ever member of blue chip stock index to file for insolvency, owing nearly $4 billion.

In court, Dierlamm questioned the credibility of statements by Braun’s co-defendant Oliver Bellenhaus, the former head of Wirecard’s subsidiary in Dubai, who became a witness after turning himself in to German authorities in 2020.

Bellenhaus’s lawyer last week asked for a reduced sentence for his client in recognition of his co-operation.

“Bellenhaus is not a key witness,” said Dierlamm. “Bellenhaus is the main perpetrator of a gang” whose sole aim was to divert and embezzle funds from the company.

Another former executive, Stephan von Erffa, is also on trial. He has publicly expressed regret about the events at Wirecard but denied orchestrating them. His lawyer has said von Erffa did not want to comment on the charges.

Marsalek, Wirecard’s former chief operating officer, is an international fugitive on Europe’s most wanted list whose whereabouts are unknown.

A verdict is not expected before 2024 at the earliest.



Source link

Tags: absurdallegationsbosssCallsFraudlawyerReutersTrialWirecard
Previous Post

Elon Musk Slashes Crypto Bot Activities with One Tweet, DOGE Co-Founder Verifies

Next Post

We Asked Americans To Explain Their 2022 Votes — And How They’re Thinking About 2024

Related Posts

USD/CAD Outlook: Head Shoulder Pattern In Play As Fundamentals Provide Interesting Dilemma

USD/CAD Outlook: Head Shoulder Pattern In Play As Fundamentals Provide Interesting Dilemma

by Dean Popplewell
September 18, 2025
0

This text was written byComply withDean Popplewell has practically twenty years of expertise buying and selling currencies and glued revenue...

NanoXplore Inc. (GRA:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

NanoXplore Inc. (GRA:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

by SA Transcripts
September 17, 2025
0

Operator Good day, and thanks for standing by. Welcome to the This autumn and year-end 2025 Monetary Outcomes NanoXplore Earnings...

September 2025 Commentary And Economic Outlook

September 2025 Commentary And Economic Outlook

by Infrastructure Capital Advisors
September 17, 2025
0

This text was written byObserveInfrastructure Capital Advisors ("Infrastructure Capital") is a number one supplier of funding administration options designed to...

Alger International Opportunities Fund Q2 2025 Commentary

Alger International Opportunities Fund Q2 2025 Commentary

by Fred Alger Management
September 16, 2025
0

This text was written byObserveFred Alger Administration, LLC (“Alger”) is a privately held $27.4 billion development fairness funding supervisor. Alger...

What TikTok Star Earnings Teach Us About Investing

What TikTok Star Earnings Teach Us About Investing

by Giovanna Borges
September 16, 2025
0

Charli D’Amelio posted her first TikTok at 15. Quick-forward a couple of years and she or he’s incomes tens of...

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) Presents at Bank of America 30th Annual Financials CEO Conference 2025 Transcript

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) Presents at Bank of America 30th Annual Financials CEO Conference 2025 Transcript

by SA Transcripts
September 16, 2025
0

Antonio RealeBofA Securities, Analysis Division We're enjoying on dwelling floor actually. So a heat welcome to our personal group CFO,...

Next Post
We Asked Americans To Explain Their 2022 Votes — And How They’re Thinking About 2024

We Asked Americans To Explain Their 2022 Votes — And How They’re Thinking About 2024

Is California making red states resistant to electric vehicles?

Is California making red states resistant to electric vehicles?

Will RBI do a Fed in October after Jerome Powell’s first rate cut of 2025?

Will RBI do a Fed in October after Jerome Powell’s first rate cut of 2025?

September 18, 2025
USD/CAD Outlook: Head Shoulder Pattern In Play As Fundamentals Provide Interesting Dilemma

USD/CAD Outlook: Head Shoulder Pattern In Play As Fundamentals Provide Interesting Dilemma

September 18, 2025
Meta Connect 2025: the 6 biggest announcements

Meta Connect 2025: the 6 biggest announcements

September 18, 2025
3 police officers fatally shot in Pennsylvania — RT World News

3 police officers fatally shot in Pennsylvania — RT World News

September 18, 2025
Indian celebrities with UAE Golden Visa: Full list and why they’re choosing the Emirates | World News

Indian celebrities with UAE Golden Visa: Full list and why they’re choosing the Emirates | World News

September 17, 2025
Tariffs Pushing Up Prices, But Wider Impact Unclear, Says Powell After Fed Rate Cut

Tariffs Pushing Up Prices, But Wider Impact Unclear, Says Powell After Fed Rate Cut

September 17, 2025
Euro Times

Get the latest news and follow the coverage of Business & Financial News, Stock Market Updates, Analysis, and more from the trusted sources.

CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Finance
  • Health
  • Investing
  • Markets
  • Politics
  • Stock Market
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • World

LATEST UPDATES

Will RBI do a Fed in October after Jerome Powell’s first rate cut of 2025?

USD/CAD Outlook: Head Shoulder Pattern In Play As Fundamentals Provide Interesting Dilemma

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us

Copyright © 2022 - Euro Times.
Euro Times is not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology

Copyright © 2022 - Euro Times.
Euro Times is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In