Wirecard Fraud Began Before 2015
The massive Wirecard scandal began way before it was known, according to a case witness. Specifically, the fraud began way before 2015 however, the deeds in this time period are not taken into consideration.
A Key Witness in the Wirecard Trial Said that the Scam had already begun before 2015. / Picture: © Europol / 2021 Europe's most wanted
According to the key witness, the alleged billion-dollar fraud at Wirecard is said to have started many years before 2015. According to the manager Oliver Bellenhaus, who worked in Dubai until the Wirecard collapse in 2020, the third-party partner business (TPA) with payment service providers in the Middle East and Southeast Asia was largely made-up from the start, as it is stated by ORF.
According to Kurier, the indictment only goes back to 2015 because the history is statute-barred. Wirecard allegedly booked fictional proceeds of almost two billion euros through the TPA partners, which were allegedly stored in trust accounts in Southeast Asia. Bellenhaus accused the former CEO, the Austrian Markus Braun, of "gang leadership". Braun and Jan Marsalek, an Austrian, who has been in hiding since the summer of 2020, made the main decisions. As evidence, Bellenhaus referred to chat protocols, according to which Braun is said to have given him instructions.
As further stated by Kurier, Bellenhaus also made serious allegations against the third defendant, the group's former chief accountant. He was a "driver" of the fraud. According to the indictment, the three managers formed a gang together with other accomplices, falsified Wirecard balance sheets, and damaged lending banks by EUR 3.1 billion. 100 days of negotiations are scheduled until 2024. Braun and the ex-chief accountant deny the allegations.