Cheating scandal
Insurance company is allowed to cut off money for ex-Wirecard accountant
The Wirecard scandal is not only a criminal case, but also an insurance case: Manager liability insurance covered millions in legal fees. But this money is finite.
In the legal processing of the Wirecard scandal, the group’s former chief accountant now also has to make do without further millions in payments from his manager liability insurance. The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court has decided in a civil case that the insurance sum of 15 million euros has been used up and that the financial expert is therefore not entitled to any further money for his lawyers. Several media outlets previously reported.
Ex-chief accountant wanted more money from the insurance company
The 15 million euros were the insured sum for 2020. In the summer of that year, it was revealed that an amount of 1.9 billion euros recorded in Wirecard’s balance sheet most likely did not exist – the DAX group filed for bankruptcy.
The ex-chief accountant argued that he should also be entitled to the insured sum for 2019 – a sum of 25 million euros. However, the 7th Senate of the Higher Regional Court agreed with the assurance. The decision is not yet legally binding, the Senate allowed an appeal.
Manager liability insurance no longer pays for ex-CEO Braun either
Managers’ liability insurance – known in technical jargon as “D&O” (Directors and Officers) – is the legal protection for board members and senior employees that is common in larger companies. In this respect, the ex-chief accountant suffered a similar fate as the former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun. He has also had to make do without liability payments since the summer.
Criminal proceedings and claims for damages
The two managers have been on trial together with star witness Oliver Bellenhaus in the Munich criminal trial for what is believed to be the largest fraud case in German post-war history for two years. Braun categorically denies all allegations, the former chief accountant most of them. In addition, both are faced with civil claims for damages, which also result in high legal fees.
According to the indictment, the fraud damage to the defrauded banks that provided Wirecard with loans amounts to a good three billion euros. In the insolvency proceedings, the claims of creditors and shareholders even add up to over 15 billion euros.
dpa
Source: Stern
