Lead to mysterious foundation
Does ex-Wirecard boss Braun have millions in Switzerland?
November 10, 2023, 2:02 p.m
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The former CEO of the defunct Wirecard Group, Markus Braun, has already been in custody for three years. And the investigators still haven’t given up the search for his missing assets. A court order obtained by a newspaper explains why.
After three years of the Wirecard trial, former CEO Markus Braun remains in custody. It is not clear that he will be released. As the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reports, his stay in custody is linked to the court’s suspicion that Braun could have a previously undiscovered fortune worth millions, which could be hidden in a foundation possibly based in Switzerland. According to the paper, this justification can be found on over 30 pages of a court order from late summer.
It is said that the court hearings have confirmed the suspicion that Wirecard’s so-called third-party business in Asia did not exist at all – as reported. From the judge’s point of view, there is a strong suspicion of a crime and a risk of concealment and escape. As soon as Braun was released, he could make off with the fortune that was being feverishly sought. The possibility of an increased risk of escape alone justifies the continuation of pre-trial detention.
Braun gives the clue himself
Interesting: The former Wirecard boss is said to have disclosed the information about a Swiss foundation himself when he applied for a loan of 150 million euros from Deutsche Bank. According to Braun’s information, in mid-May 2020 – shortly before the collapse of Wirecard – the foundation still had 45 million euros in shares and two million euros in cash assets.
Why Braun took out such a large loan when he allegedly had high reserves is one of the many open questions in the Wirecard scandal. In court, Braun has so far refused to provide any information regarding questions about his private assets, shares or securities and the whereabouts of the capital, citing the civil lawsuits ongoing against him.
It is unclear whether the mysterious foundation actually exists in Switzerland or elsewhere. Braun’s tax documents with the authorities in Germany and Austria apparently contain no reference to the foundation. The court is convinced that the money could have come from non-legal sources.
Tough battle of the creditors
Braun’s defenders deny this. They claim that all of the ex-manager’s assets were legally acquired and confiscated. The judges’ doubts remain – regardless of whether the foundation ever existed. The investigations and lawsuits could drag on for years. Wirecard’s former creditors alone have reported financial damages of almost 20 billion euros to Wirecard’s insolvency administrator Michael Jaffé.
With a share of a good seven percent, Braun was the largest shareholder in the Wirecard Group, which has now been largely liquidated by the insolvency administrator. When the company was promoted to the DAX, the leading stock exchange index, in 2018, Wirecard was worth a total of over 20 billion euros, making Braun a billionaire. When the group collapsed in the summer of 2020, most of the assets were lost again. Both the public prosecutor and the insolvency administrator are trying to secure what is left.