Agency Report –
Munich – The largest fraud trial in Germany’s post-war history is set to be shortened, paving the way for a possible judgement this year for the former boss of the insolvent Wirecard tech company.
Prosecutors in the southern city of Munich on Wednesday agreed to the court’s proposal to limit the mammoth proceedings, which have been ongoing for more than two years, to the 10 most important charges.
Wirecard, a once high-flying German financial services provider, spectacularly collapsed in the summer of 2020 after €1.9 billion ($2 billion) allegedly held in South-East Asian escrow accounts could not be traced, resulting in hundreds of civil lawsuits in addition to criminal proceedings.
Its former boss Markus Braun and two associates are on trial for fraud, accused of inflating the company’s turnover to keep Wirecard afloat for years.
When the firm collapsed, it owed creditor banks more than €3 billion, according to the prosecution.
Braun, who has been in custody for four and a half years, denies all charges. He accuses a group centred on Jan Marsalek, a board member who has since evaded arrest, of being behind the fraud.
Following the decision to shorten the trial, Braun’s defence accused the court and the public prosecutor’s office of not being interested in genuine clarification.
“This is a certain pre-judgement on the part of the court,” said lawyer Theres Krausslach. “We are at a point where nothing has been clarified, not even today.”
“From our point of view, there is nothing at all to adjust, because Dr Braun must be acquitted on all counts,” said the defence lawyer.
