Horrific Turn of Events for Markus Braun
The trial against Markus Braun, the former CEO of the now-defunct financial technology company Wirecard, is nearing its conclusion at the Munich Regional Court. Braun has been on trial for 207 days as of July 2025, with the core allegation being that he was involved in a massive fraud involving the company's Third-Party Acquiring (TPA) business and the disappearance of €1.9 billion euros.
The TPA business, which accounted for about 98% of Wirecard's operating profits according to the company's financial statements, has been at the heart of the investigation. Insolvency administrator Michael Jaffé recently testified that no evidence or legitimate traces of such a business on the scale Wirecard reported could be found.
Jaffé also revealed that the alleged €1.9 billion in bank accounts in the Philippines were fictitious, with no money ever arriving there. This fraudulent misrepresentation of assets led Wirecard to file for bankruptcy in June 2020, becoming the first DAX-listed company to do so.
During his testimony, Jaffé noted that many documents purported to prove real transactions were forgeries, and even Wirecard employees responsible for the business were unaware of its actual existence. Braun's claim that the proceeds were stolen rather than the business being fabricated is considered far-fetched, with no substantial proof found to support his theory.
The public prosecutor's office accuses Braun and his two co-defendants of gang fraud, with damages estimated at three billion euros. However, no dates have been set for closing arguments and the verdict in the Wirecard trial.
Wirecard was a payment service provider for credit card transactions, and revenues from this third-party business were allegedly booked on trust accounts, initially in Singapore, then on the Philippines just before the insolvency. Jaffé estimated the total amount of cash burn over the years to be 1.1 billion euros.
Despite the allegations, no protests or concerns were received from customers or business partners following the insolvency. Most of the profits booked in the Wirecard balance sheets came from so-called third-party businesses in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The insolvency administrator stated that Wirecard lived off bank loans in the years leading up to its collapse.
Jaffé dismissed the possibility that there had ever been a third-party business of the magnitude claimed by Braun. The Wirecard trial is the largest civil trial ever in Germany, and the Austrian manager, Braun, denies the allegations and sees himself as a victim of his former colleague, Jan Marsalek, and his accomplices, who remain fugitives.
As the trial continues, the public awaits the court's decision on the fate of Markus Braun and the truth behind the collapse of Wirecard.
The absence of the TPA business on the scale reported by Wirecard, which accounted for nearly all of its operating profits, has been a focus of the investigation, according to insolvency administrator Michael Jaffé. In light of this, it can be inferred that the community policy and employment policy of Wirecard may have allowed practices that led to the falsification of documents and concealment of the true state of the TPA business, potentially implicating finance-related policies as well. The outcome of the trial could significantly impact the business community's perception of financial transparency and ethical employment practices.
