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Two and a half years after Wirecard’s bankruptcy, criminal proceedings began in what is considered the largest fraud case in Germany since 1945 before the Munich court. Judge-chairman Markus Födisch opened the major proceedings against former CEO Markus Braun and his two co-defendants on Thursday with a delay of three quarters of an hour.

The prosecution accuses Braun of forming a gang of fraudsters with his accomplices in the company’s executive suite, falsifying balance sheets and defrauding lenders of 3.1 billion euros. The Chamber has scheduled more than 100 days of hearings through 2024.

Just reading out the 89-page indictment in the underground high-security wing next to Stadelheim prison would take an estimated five hours on Thursday.

Ex-CEO Braun had denied the allegations before the trial began in a joint statement with his lawyers. According to Braun, he was not involved and himself became a victim of criminal activity in his company.

Oliver Bellenhaus, the former general manager of the Wirecard subsidiary in Dubai, is expected to act as Braun’s opponent and star witness for the prosecution.

Before the group went bankrupt in the summer of 2020, the board of directors had admitted that revenues of 1.9 billion euros, which allegedly came from transactions with partner companies and were supposedly booked in trust accounts in Southeast Asia, could not be found. Much of this trade with partner companies went through Dubai. (aeg/sda/awp/dpa)