Wirecard CEO Re-Arrested After Being Freed On Bail

Shortly after Wirecard’s former COO reportedly surfaced in Russia, where he has fled to avoid prosecution over the bankruptcy of Wirecard after the company reportedly collapsed following the exposure of a massive $2 billion accounting fraud, prosecutors in Munich have issued new arrest warrants for three former Wirecard executives – including former CEO Markus Braun – over findings that Braun and the others knew about the fraudulent activity as far back as 2015.

A new expanded arrest warrant has been issued targeting Braun, who was arrested for the first time in relation to the scandal late last month, has been free on a massive $6 million bail.

Braun was re-arrested during his weekly check-in with authorities.

The former head of the Wirecard subsidiary Cardsystems Middle East, which was blamed for playing a key role in the fraud, remains in custody in Dubai. The new allegations determined that all the executives were involved with a conscious decision back in 2015 to “inflate” Wirecard’s balance sheet by booking fraudulent revenue to make the company more attractive to lenders.

The three conspired to defraud loan providers out of about 3.2 billion euros ($3.7 billion), Munich prosecutors said Wednesday.

Of Wirecard’s 45 subsidiaries, only 3 were profitable.

The warrants are for crimes ranging from fraud to market manipulation. The other two executives were identified by AFP as two Wirecard board members.