The political contacts of the ex-CEO Markus Braun are of particular interest to the German MPs.
The parliamentary committee of inquiry into the Wirecard accounting scandal is picking up speed with the questioning of ex-CEO Markus Braun. “Today it is getting serious,” said the SPD politician Jens Zimmermann on Thursday in the Bundestag. “We are concerned with political education,” added Danyal Bayaz from the Greens. Braun does not have to incriminate himself, but the committee is concerned with political contacts and networks, with the Chancellery and the ministries.
enlightenment
The Austrian Braun shaped the collapsed payment processor for 18 years. “This is not just any witness,” said FDP politician Florian Toncar. As the boss, he knew everything that was central to the investigation. “Markus Braun was Wirecard.” The committee will check carefully whether he is rightly exercising his right to refuse to give evidence on questions or is merely advocating it. “If it is pushed forward, it will not be the last visit to Berlin.”
Braun's lawyers had requested in advance that the ex-manager, who was in custody in Augsburg, should only be interrogated via video. The Federal Court of Justice had requested a personal appearance in Berlin. There, Braun will probably be shown in handcuffs and answer questions from MPs in the afternoon.
Meeting with politicians
The focus should be on a meeting of Braun's with State Secretary Jörg Kukies from the SPD-led Ministry of Finance on November 5, 2019 – when there were already specific allegations against Wirecard and a special report was commissioned. SPD politician Zimmermann called this an “old camel”. However, all other parties see it differently and want to ask Braun about it. It is remarkable that Kukies invited himself to Braun at this point, said Hans Michelbach from the CSU.
Kay Gottschalk from the AfD added that more details were needed to find out whether there was a critical attitude towards Wirecard in the finance ministry, finance minister and SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz. “In this respect, they are not old camels.” FDP politician Toncar said it was obscure that Kukies had turned up at Braun without witnesses. “It wasn't a routine conversation.” According to Bayaz, the Greens are also “very suspicious” of the meeting.
Years of fine arithmetic
Wirecard went bankrupt in June after a billions in accounting scandal became known. The Munich public prosecutor accuses Braun and other Wirecard managers of commercial gang fraud, falsification of accounts and market manipulation. Wirecard is said to have calculated itself for years with systematic air bookings and thus inflicted billions in damage to investors and banks. In his last public appearance so far, Braun had portrayed the company as a victim of large-scale fraud.
