The letter from former board member Jan Marsalek, which has now surfaced, has caused controversy in the criminal proceedings surrounding the billion-dollar bankruptcy of the German payment processor Wirecard. While defenders of accused former boss Markus Braun demanded that the previously unpublished letter be read, it was rejected by the presiding judge at Wednesday’s hearing.
Without further motivation, the judge said he saw little opportunity to bring the letter to the hearing. He will decide on this at a later date. This led to sometimes wild discussions between the lawyers, the judge and the prosecutor. The hearing even had to be interrupted for several minutes. The chairman then announces that he will allow Braun’s attorneys to speak on a motion to testify later in the day.
Lawyers: Letter exonerates Braun
Braun’s lawyers stressed that Marsalek’s letter contained vital information to exonerate her client. Marsalek went into hiding three years ago when Wirecard collapsed and is wanted internationally. He was considered the leading mind at Wirecard and was responsible for Asian affairs. Wirecard collapsed in June 2020 when it turned out that escrow accounts in Asia were missing 1.9 billion euros. The public prosecutor accuses the Austrian Braun and two other defendants of accounting forgery and large-scale fraud.
According to this, the managers would have fabricated billions in revenue from so-called external partners to refine the group. Braun and his lawyers, on the other hand, have stated that the money existed and was hidden behind Braun’s back.
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.
