In the Wirecard trial in Munich, the key prosecutor’s witness extensively confirmed the central claim of the prosecutor: the alleged billion-dollar turnover of the Dax group, which collapsed in 2020, was therefore fictitious – and CEO Markus Braun was actively involved.
Former Wirecard executive Oliver Bellenhaus, who accuses Braun’s lawyer of making false statements and considers more of a perpetrator, first made specific allegations against Braun, who is from Austria, on Wednesday, describing in detail the forgery of documents and sales . “Of course we came up with that,” Bellenhaus said on the sixth day of the trial over the billion-dollar entries in trust accounts in Southeast Asia.
„The sole purpose was to mislead accountants“
When asked explicitly by the court whether the third-party company existed, Bellenhaus said: “I answer very clearly: no.” the blocked accounts could not be found. The “third party partners” were companies that allegedly processed credit card payments on behalf of Wirecard in countries where the Bavarian group itself did not have a corresponding license.
The sole purpose was to mislead the auditors. “The auditor needed something, and then the panic set in,” Bellenhaus said. “It was a huge mess, it was all chaos.” According to Bellenhaus, former sales director Jan Marsalek, who has been in hiding since 2020, the chief accountant and himself were personally involved in the falsification of bookings, contracts, logbooks and other documents. According to Bellenhaus, they personally relaxed the demands of the accountants, who demanded access in the company’s business records.
Bellenhaus recalled the explosive development on Wednesday: Wirecard had been making losses as a “money-burning machine” since 2013 because the company could no longer cover rapidly rising costs. “Millions went out, you can’t count it that fast.”
Braun will speak for the first time next week
Since 2015, Braun, Bellenhaus and the former chief accounting officer have falsified Wirecard balance sheets and damaged lending banks by 3.1 billion euros, according to the indictment. Braun sees himself as a victim of the scammers in his company. The Austrian manager, who, like Bellenhaus, has been detained for two and a half years, will comment on the allegations for the first time next week. Braun must be prepared for a long interrogation: the chamber has reserved five days of the trial for this.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
