Laborious reappraisal
Wirecard trial extended by almost a year
The legal investigation into one of Germany's biggest economic scandals will take much longer than initially expected. The fourth criminal division of Munich Regional Court I has scheduled 86 additional trial days in the Wirecard case until December 19 of this year.
The trial against former CEO Markus Braun, key witness Oliver Bellenhaus and the former chief accountant of the group, which collapsed in 2020, has been running since December 8, 2022. The chamber had originally scheduled 100 trial days, the last of which would have been January 10 next week.
1.9 billion euros disappeared
Wirecard collapsed in the summer of 2020 after auditors were unable to locate 1.9 billion euros that should have been recognized in the balance sheet. According to the indictment, the money never existed. Braun and accomplices are alleged to have acted as a criminal gang and faked transactions in order to keep the loss-making company afloat.
Witness hearings yielded little enlightening information
However, Braun, who was remanded in custody in July 2020, has declared his innocence. According to the Austrian manager, the real criminals around the former Chief Sales Officer Jan Marsalek, who has gone into hiding, and the key witness Bellenhaus, are said to have put vast sums of money on the side.
Braun and Bellenhaus accuse each other, none of the witnesses heard so far have been able to shed any light on the matter. Numerous summoned witnesses - mainly from abroad - did not appear at all
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