Tag: Alexander von Knoop

A Munich court has found Markus Braun, the former CEO of Wirecard, along with Alexander von Knoop, former CFO, and Susanne Steidl, former chief product officer, personally liable for €140 million in damages. This decision comes after a long-running civil suit filed by Michael Jaffé, the administrator of Wirecard, over the executives’ roles in issuing unsecured loans to allegedly fraudulent business partners in Asia.

The Wirecard trials in Germany continue unperturbed despite the confusion surrounding the espionage affair involving former Management Board member Jan Marsalek. Four years after Wirecard collapsed, former chief financial officer Alexander von Knoop and former chief product officer Susanne Steidl have been charged with breach of trust. The charges are part of the ongoing investigation into one of Europe’s largest accounting scandals.

The trial started with a delay of about 45 minutes because the entrance checks for the visitors took longer than planned. The reading of the indictment takes about 5 hours. The prosecutors allege that tens of thousands of shareholders have lost more than €20 billion. Banks and other creditors were left with more than €3 billion. The former CEO Markus Braun, who at some point before 2015 would have formed a criminal organization out of Wirecard, is said to be primarily responsible.

Dubai - a popular place for its secrecy - is a hot spot for Wirecard. In recent years, the tax haven has developed into a payment hub that is strongly linked to the Asian region as well as to Israel. The Financial Times revealed in 2019 that actually a significant part of Wirecard's processed transaction volume is acquired and processed via its subsidiary in Dubai.