The Wirecard story is far from over. Currently, the former CEO Markus Braun and two other executives stand trial in Munich. In early 2024, former members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board of Wirecard will face the claims of the insolvency administrator in a complex directors’ and officers’ liability proceeding at the Munich Regional Court. The insolvency administrator, Michael Jaffé, has been tasked with collecting money for the Wirecard companies.
Unfolding Wirecard Story
The proceedings in this next chapter of the Wirecard Story will focus on breaches of duty and their implications under company law. Jaffé’s latest report highlights potential arguments for damages claims, including claims filed by former shareholders amounting to approximately €7 billion, a €500 million public bond, and a disputed €900 million convertible bond (WD Invest). The report also includes KapMuG proceedings, and further claims are currently being examined.
Former board members facing financial liability include former CEO Markus Braun, former CFO, and two former Supervisory Board members. The executive bodies are jointly and severally liable for breaches of duty related to various loans totaling 140 million euros.
The dispute in the proceedings involves notifying “a large number of persons,” including former Supervisory Board members, such as Thomas Eichelmann. Not all of them joined the cause, but those responsible for the boards at the time have mandated legal representatives and are monitoring the situation.
Additionally, the insolvency administrator is seeking to have the Wirecard balance sheets for 2017 and 2018 declared null and void by the court.
The Munich Trial
Former CEO Markus Braun, currently in custody and at the center of criminal proceedings, is defending against an asset detention order by the insolvency administration. He has also sought protection for his fundamental rights through the Federal Constitutional Court.
Recently we saw a new spin on the Wirecard Story. In addition to Braun, Oliver Bellenhaus, Wirecard‘s former representative in Dubai, is also a defendant. He is the prosecution’s key witness and incriminates Braun by saying that the so-called 3rd party acquiring business did not exist. Most recently, the fugitive former Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek sent a letter to the court via his lawyer confirming the existence of the 3rd party acquiring business and portraying Bellenhaus as a liar.
Braun recently suffered a further setback with regard to the assumption of his attorney’s fees at the Düsseldorf Regional Court: There, in summary proceedings, he had demanded coverage of an additional 10 million euros from the secondary insurer of his management liability insurance, since the D&O insurance policy he had once taken out for 15 million euros would soon be exhausted. The court rejected this and referred to a chain of identical breaches of duty that could be added up to a single insured event under insurance law.
The legal challenges surrounding Wirecard continue to unfold, involving numerous major construction sites and complex legal proceedings that span multiple courts and jurisdictions.
