Two more Wirecard executives charged over accounting scandal

12:31 pm Wednesday, August 07th, 2024

MUNICH (Reuters) -German prosecutors have charged another two former Wirecard executives, according to a statement from their Munich office on Tuesday, casting their net wider in investigations into one of Germany’s biggest corporate scandals.

Wirecard collapsed in June 2020 over a 1.9 billion euro ($2.1 billion) hole in its balance sheet, shaking up Germany’s business establishment and turning the spotlight on politicians who backed it, as well as regulators who took years to investigate allegations against the firm.

Alexander von Knoop, who served as finance chief of the now-defunct online payments company, and Susanne Steidl, its board member for product development, have been charged with several counts of embezzlement, the state prosecutor’s office said.

Von Knoop has also been charged with aiding and abetting embezzlement, it added in a statement.

The two former executives allegedly waved through loans and other payments even when some were in arrears on interest and repayment was questionable, according to prosecutors.

“Wirecard AG suffered losses of several hundred million euros as a result of all these breaches of trust,” the prosecutor’s office said.

The law firm representing von Knoop said he had not been aware of any wrongdoing to the detriment of Wirecard AG and its shareholders by others at the company.

“At no time did Mr von Knoop have the intention or even the idea of harming Wirecard Group companies in his actions,” the firm said in a statement, adding the von Knoop had cooperated with investigators throughout their investigation.

The law firm representing Steidl had no comment on the charges.

Von Knoop and Steidl join other managers facing legal action over the scandal.

CEO Markus Braun, deputy finance chief Stephan von Erffa and Wirecard’s Asia representative Oliver Bellenhaus are currently on trial in Munich for alleged fraud and falsifying financial statements.

A decision is pending on whether von Knoop and Steidl will stand trial.

($1 = 0.9166 euros)

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Joern Poltz in Munich, Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Miranda Murray, Jan Harvey and Sharon Singleton)