Former Wirecard CFO Charged with Fraud in Ongoing Corporate Drama

December 15, 2023 04:06 AM AEDT | By Invezz

Former Wirecard CFO Charged with Fraud in Ongoing Corporate Drama — Image source: Invezz

Ley’s tenure and arrest

Burkhard Ley, Wirecard’s CFO from 2006 to 2017, later served as an external adviser. He faces charges of fraud, breach of trust, accounting, and market manipulation. Ley was initially arrested in 2020 but released after four months in custody.

This development parallels the ongoing trial of Markus Braun, Wirecard’s ex-CEO, and two other executives, expected to continue until next summer.
Wirecard, once a tech jewel valued at over €24bn, imploded in June 2020, revealing a €1.9bn shortfall in its accounts.

Prosecutors’ allegations

Ley is accused of fabricating Wirecard’s Asian operations, allegedly key to half the company’s revenue and most profits, to deceive investors and inflate the share price. Braun, Oliver Bellenhaus, and Stephan von Erffa face similar accusations.

Ley, through his lawyers, denies involvement in criminal activities. His defence challenges the evidence as “highly controversial” and reliant on “dubious statements” from Bellenhaus, a key witness against him.

Braun and von Erffa also deny charges, accusing Bellenhaus of falsifying allegations. Braun maintains that Wirecard’s Asian operations were genuine, blaming Jan Marsalek, the elusive former second-in-command, and Bellenhaus for embezzlement.

The Munich district court is set to review the charges against Ley and decide on proceeding with a trial under German law.

The post Former Wirecard CFO charged with fraud in ongoing corporate drama appeared first on Invezz

Disclaimer

The content, including but not limited to any articles, news, quotes, information, data, text, reports, ratings, opinions, images, photos, graphics, graphs, charts, animations and video (Content) is a service of Kalkine Media Pty Ltd (Kalkine Media, we or us), ACN 629 651 672 and is available for personal and non-commercial use only. The principal purpose of the Content is to educate and inform. The Content does not contain or imply any recommendation or opinion intended to influence your financial decisions and must not be relied upon by you as such. Some of the Content on this website may be sponsored/non-sponsored, as applicable, but is NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold the stocks of the company(s) or engage in any investment activity under discussion. Kalkine Media is neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice through this platform. Users should make their own enquiries about any investments and Kalkine Media strongly suggests the users to seek advice from a financial adviser, stockbroker or other professional (including taxation and legal advice), as necessary. Kalkine Media hereby disclaims any and all the liabilities to any user for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising from any use of the Content on this website, which is provided without warranties. The views expressed in the Content by the guests, if any, are their own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Kalkine Media. Some of the images/music that may be used on this website are copyright to their respective owner(s). Kalkine Media does not claim ownership of any of the pictures displayed/music used on this website unless stated otherwise. The images/music that may be used on this website are taken from various sources on the internet, including paid subscriptions or are believed to be in public domain. We have used reasonable efforts to accredit the source wherever it was indicated as or found to be necessary.