In the largest accounting fraud case in German post-war history, the criminal proceedings against former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun are to begin shortly.
This was announced by the Munich Higher Regional Court on Wednesday.
The Munich I district court has therefore allowed the charge of the Munich public prosecutor's office to remain unchanged.
In the 474-page indictment, Braun, his chief accountant Stephan von Erffa and the governor of Wirecard in Dubai, Oliver Bellenhaus, are accused of accounting fraud, market manipulation, breach of trust in several cases and commercial gang fraud.
According to the indictment, Braun and his accomplices have falsified Wirecard's balance sheets since 2015 and damaged lending banks by a total of 3.1 billion euros - of which 1.7 billion euros in loans and a further 1.4 billion in bonds.
In June 2020, the Wirecard Group collapsed.
The Austrian ex-CEO, who has been in custody for more than two years, has protested his innocence in the past and has rejected the allegations.
The forthcoming process is likely to be complex and lengthy.
According to their own statements, the public prosecutor's office had identified and checked 340 companies, 450 people and over 1100 bank accounts as relevant for their indictment.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the accused invented extremely profitable businesses so that Wirecard would be perceived as an extremely successful company.
Reported proceeds would not have existed at all.
The consolidated financial statements for the years 2015 to 2018 were incorrect and did not correctly reflect the circumstances of the group