The detainment of former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun was brief. His former colleague on the Board of Management and long-time companion Jan Marsalek was not even within reach of the law enforcement agents because he was allegedly in the Philippines, i.e. he is on the run. But back to Braun.
The Austrian, who is a member of a think tank of the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, was arrested by the German law enforcement agents (police) on Monday evening. After a few hours, he was released on bail of €5 million. According to a statement by the responsible public prosecutor’s office, Braun must report to the authorities once a week.
While Markus Braun was released on bail, an extensive share transaction apparently took place which brought Braun more than €150 million. After this share transaction, he apparently is no longer the main shareholder of Wirecard.
More than 10 years ago, the Austrian banker Julius Meinl was suspected of balance sheet manipulation and money laundering by the Austrian public prosecutors. Among other things, several hundred million are said to have been laundered through his Meinl Bank. Meinl had to post a bail of €100 million to avoid arrest. Wirecard‘s dimension is much larger than that of the Austrian Meinl Bank. And Braun is released with a bail of €5 million. A bad joke and a very wrong signal to cybercriminals and investors.
