The Wirecard trial ticks closer
The Wirecard saga had all the trappings of a spy film — so it only makes sense that the trial will too.
From Thursday, a criminal court will begin dissecting one of Europe’s most spectacular accounting scandals in an underground, bombproof courtroom. In the dock are the fallen German payments group’s ex-boss Markus Braun, former head of accounting Stephan von Erffa, and the boss of a Dubai-based subsidiary Oliver Bellenhaus.
Our colleagues have compiled a helpful look ahead about what to expect:
- The trial will take place in a high-security courtroom on the grounds of one of Germany’s largest prisons. Originally built in 2016 for trials involving terrorists and mobsters, the facility is located five meters underground and protected by a bombproof ceiling.
- At the core of prosecutors’ investigation has been Wirecard’s so-called third-party payments processing business in Asia known as TPA. The FT exposed that large parts of the TPA business appeared fraudulent in October 2019, and subsequent investigations by Wirecard’s administrator and Munich prosecutors later concluded it was a sham.
- Braun denies the charges and vehemently disputes that the TPA business was fake. He contends that a criminal clique around Jan Marsalek, Wirecard’s second-in-command who has been on the run for two years, and Bellenhaus, created a “shadow structure” and redirected the TPA proceeds into their own pockets without his knowledge.
- Like most trials in Germany, there will be no jury. Instead, a panel of three professional judges, headed by presiding judge Markus Födisch, and two “lay” judges (members of the public who are deputised for the duration of the trial).
- The trial is going to be a long and drawn-out process. It’s expected to continue into at least 2024. On the first day alone, prosecutors expect that reading out all charges will take five hours.
- Five more court days are scheduled this year, with Braun and Bellenhaus, who are still in custody, expected to give their opening statements. Von Erffa, who was released on bail in the summer of 2021, will remain silent “for now”, according to his lawyer.