Important witness cancels
Wirecard process has to do without whistleblowers
In the Munich Wirecard trial, the witness who was the first to provide information about suspected fictitious transactions to a London newspaper – and thus ushered in the end of the group – will be missing.
The whistleblower, whose information contributed significantly to the collapse of the DAX group in the summer of 2020, will be missing as a witness in the Munich Wirecard trial. The Munich I Regional Court announced that the Singaporean lawyer canceled his participation scheduled for this Wednesday at very short notice.
Lawyer discovered manipulation – Wirecard management did not react
The court did not name the witness. But it is the lawyer Pav Gill, who previously worked for the Wirecard legal department in the Southeast Asian island state. There, the lawyer discovered suspected fictitious transactions and reported his suspicions to the company headquarters in the Munich suburb of Aschheim. Since Gill felt Wirecard management did nothing, he turned to journalists, prosecutors and auditors. The British Financial Times published an initial article based on Gill’s information in February 2019, followed by numerous other revelations.
According to the court’s press office, one reason for the cancellation was that the witness was concerned about his safety at the trial – however, the underground courtroom is a high-security building that was only opened a few years ago within the walls of JVA Stadelheim, the largest prison in Bavaria. The hall is not freely accessible to outsiders from any side.
Former CEO Braun would have met the whistleblower for the first time
This means that former Wirecard boss Markus Braun, who has been in custody for over four years, will not meet in the courtroom the man who got the ball rolling that was decisive for the company’s downfall. The “Financial Times” had reported years earlier about suspected irregularities at the German payment service provider. But Gill was the first informant to pass on concrete information about the alleged sham transactions and balance sheet manipulation to the London newspaper.
The judiciary cannot force foreign witnesses to appear
Since the witness lives abroad, the German judiciary cannot force him to travel. A court spokesman called the short-term cancellation incomprehensible.
dpa
Source: Stern
