Markus Braun Faces Trial: A Dark Day for Wirecard's Former CEO
The ongoing trial of former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun in Munich is shedding light on the mysterious disappearance of €1.9 billion and the fabrication of a third-party acquiring (TPA) business in Asia. Michael Jaffe, Wirecard's insolvency administrator, has testified that the money never arrived in the Philippines, and the TPA business, which accounted for 98% of Wirecard's operating profits, did not exist.
Jaffe's revelations have dealt a significant blow to Braun's defense, who have accused Jan Marsalek, Bellenhaus, and other co-defendants of embezzling the missing funds and operating Wirecard for their own benefit. However, Jaffe could not confirm the existence of the third-party businesses named by Braun's defense team.
The TPA business was supposed to process credit card payments in countries where Wirecard did not have a license. The majority of the profits booked in Wirecard's balance sheet came from these so-called third-party businesses in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. However, investigations found that these accounts were empty, and many documents purported to prove real transactions turned out to be forgeries. Even employees responsible for that business area were unaware of its existence.
The public prosecutor's office accuses Braun and his two co-defendants of organized fraud, with the damage to the lending banks estimated at three billion euros. The Federal Court of Justice is set to deliberate on the disputed claims in a separate civil proceeding on October 16.
Apart from the actual creditors, 52,000 Wirecard shareholders have filed claims totaling 8.6 billion euros to compensate for their losses. The insolvency administrator has contradicted the defense line of former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun. Revenues from this third-party business were allegedly booked on trust accounts, initially in Singapore, and later on the Philippines before the insolvency.
Jaffe estimated that the total amount of cash burned over the years by Wirecard was 1.1 billion euros. The 1.9 billion euros booked in the Wirecard balance sheet on trust accounts in Southeast Asia did not exist, according to lawyer Michael Jaffe.
The criminal trial against Braun and his co-defendants began in December 2022, but the evidence gathering process is not yet complete, and no dates have been set for closing arguments and the verdict. The trial has been ongoing for over 200 days as of July 2025, with significant focus on unraveling these financial fabrications.
The current status of the Munich Wirecard trial indicates that the missing €1.9 billion never existed and that the TPA business in Asia was entirely fabricated. The defense’s argument centers on diversion by criminal elements, but this remains without proof and is heavily challenged by insolvency administrators and prosecutors.
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Interested parties can now apply to seek compensation for their losses in the General-News, following the revelations by Wirecard's insolvency administrator, Michael Jaffe, who testified that the missing €1.9 billion and the TPA business in Asia, which accounted for 98% of Wirecard's operating profits, did not exist. This financial fabrication is now under investigation for Crime-and-Justice, as the ongoing trial of former CEO, Markus Braun, sheds light on the mysterious disappearance of the funds.
