Former CEO Markus Braun of Wirecard, who had been killed by mega-fraud, refused to disclose his role in the accounting scandal to the German parliament on Thursday. Braun and other top drivers of Wirecard have been detained for months on suspicion of, among other things, money laundering, conspiracy and forgery. He did, however, make a brief statement after entering, stating that supervisors and politicians would not be guilty of the company’s problems. He also defended the commissioners and accountant of Wirecard. Braun, who also considers himself a victim of the affair, relied mainly on his right to remain silent as a suspect. He has that right while his case is still pending in Munich. Wirecard collapsed in June when it appeared that almost EUR 2 billion had been lost in the balance sheet and possibly never existed. In addition, the company had billions in debt. It is one of the biggest fraud cases in modern German history. The testimony was before a special committee of Inquiry of the Bundestag. In addition to questions about his role in the Wirecard scandal, the commission also wanted to look at when the German government knew about irregularities and whether there was not too little action at the company. The German Stock Exchange guard, BaFin, is also heavily under attack because of inadequate supervision in the affair.
