From Thursday, ex-Wirecard boss Markus Braun will be in court.
(Photo: dpa)
From a constitutional perspective, the first ten years of the relationship between the payment service provider Wirecard and the Munich public prosecutor’s office were an oath of disclosure. When the trial against former CEO Markus Braun and two employees begins on Thursday, the Bavarian officials have a great opportunity: they can restore confidence in their work and independence. Hope they don’t fail again.
Looking back hurts. As early as 2011, investor representatives pointed out oddities in the Wirecard business. They were difficult witnesses because they were betting on falling Wirecard prices, so to speak they were partisans. Two of them were actually convicted of insider trading. The Munich public prosecutor’s office left their criticism of Wirecard cold. In 2015, the “Financial Times” (“FT”) began its “House of Wirecard” series of articles. Fundamental questions about the intrinsic value were raised. The public prosecutor considered the sources of the “FT” to be dubious.
This negligence of the Munich public prosecutor weighs heavily. The behavior of the investigators from 2019 onwards cannot be explained at all. The “FT” reported again, this time on money laundering and account forgery in Asia. The basis was a report from a law firm that Wirecard had commissioned itself.
The next few months would have fit into a slapstick comedy if billions of euros were not at stake. Wirecard downplayed the firm’s findings. Asia board member Jan Marsalek personally took care of the relationship with the authorities. Result: The financial supervisory authority banned speculative transactions with Wirecard shares and filed criminal charges against two reporters from the “FT”. The public prosecutor’s office began an investigation.
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That’s how it went almost to the bitter end. Wirecard brought in a special expert to check its balance sheets. The prosecution looked on. Meanwhile, there were wild price fluctuations on the stock exchange. Of course, the public prosecutor saw no evidence of manipulation. It was not until spring 2020 that she finally began investigating Wirecard.
Marsalek’s escape was made easy
There was a raid shortly before Wirecard collapsed. But then she watched as Marsalek fled. When the Bavarian investigators finally dropped their case against the “FT” reporters in September, Wirecard had long since been reduced to rubble.
To date, there is no explanation for this legal failure. Bavaria as a place of justice earned scorn and ridicule worldwide. A process of the century is now beginning in Munich. Will the investigators restore their reputation? Her key witness is a man who, in his mid-40s, resembled a pubescent teenager, obsessed with sex and money and fond of speaking slurred language.
The lawyers of the main defendant Markus Braun are sure of victory. Those who have such witnesses need solid evidence to convict a former CEO. But the public prosecutor’s office doesn’t have that. If they are right, that would be good for Braun, but bad for the rule of law. The biggest financial scandal in Germany could end without a guilty party.
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