From: RegTech Analyst
Markus Braun, the former top boss at disgraced FinTech giant Wirecard, has been arrested for a second time in Munich for his alleged role in a multi-year fraud.
Having stepped down in June after a $1.9bn ($2.1bn) black hole in Wirecard’s finances was discovered, the former CEO was arrested for the first time days later and later released on bail.
He has now been arrested again, accused of having misrepresented the German payment company’s accounts and falsifying income from transactions, the Financial Times reported.
The publication reported that prosecutors suspected that Braun and other executives had agreed to inflate the company’s revenue.
The fraud allegedly started as early as 2015.
Wirecard’s former CFO Burkhard Ley and the company’s former head of accounting Stephan von Erffa have also reportedly been taken into custody.
The former COO of Wirecard Jan Marsalek is wanted and reportedly hiding in Moscow, protected by the Russian secret service.
Braun’s arrest marks the latest turn in the downfall of the once celebrated company. Earlier this week, it was revealed that EY reportedly warned Wirecard that an independent audit by KPMG could carry a “danger of misinterpretation.”
The news also comes as Rosen Law Firm is gearing up to launch a class action lawsuit against Wirecard on behalf of its stakeholders.
The collapse of Wirecard could have long-lasting effects on the FinTech sector, with regulators being urged to up their scrutiny of the industry.
In the UK, businesses using Wirecard’s solutions found themselves iunable to provide their services for a few days in June after the Financial Conduct Authority ordered Wirecard UK to freeze all of its assets and regulated activities.
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