Former head of Wire card, a German payment company, is about to begin his trial on what is termed as the biggest fraud case in Germany.
The company was Led by Markus Braun who presided over its success which dazzled many, to its downfall.
The trial is set to happen in a high-security courtroom at Stadelheim prison in Munich.
Mr Braun, who was Wire Card’s chief executive, is being held in jail in pre-trial custody and denies any wrongdoing.
His fellow executives, Oliver Bellenhaus who was head of Wire card’s Dubai subsidiary and Stephan von Erffa, who oversaw accounting are also facing trial.
The extent of the scandal surrounding the giant company emerged in June 2020 when the Wirecard’s former chief operating officer Jan Marsalek had gone.
The COO is on Europol’s most wanted list, suspected of having committed gang fraud.
Also Read: KQ Slashes Fares for Launch of the Mombasa-Dubai Flights
Wire card was launched in 1999 in Munich, where it processed online credit card payments, for gambling and pornography sites, before it expanded into banking, issuing credit and pre-payment cards.
By 2005 it was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in 2018 it joined the Dax 30 index of Germany’s leading blue-chip companies.
The Financial Times, however, later released reports questioning the company’s figure.
Woes after woes began piling up after a private and unknown research firm made allegations linking Wire card to money-laundering and fraud.
Wire card deflected accusations by investors and journalists, and the German financial authorities backed them up.
Early 2019, leaked documents revealed accounting problems in Wire card’s Asian operations, but the company blamed speculators.
The trial room, designed for suspected terrorists and mafia members, lies 5m (16ft) underground, with a bomb-proof ceiling.