MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st July, 2020) The searches have been conducted in offices of German digital payments company Wirecard in Germany and the home of its ex-chief, Markus Braun, in Austria's Vienna, in connection with suspected stock market manipulation, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Wednesday.
The searches aim to seize documents that can shed light on alleged manipulations, the newspaper said, citing the Munich prosecutor's office.
Braun and Jan Marsalek, an ex-member of the management board, and several other Wirecard executives are suspected of being involved in stock market manipulation and fraud. The prosecutors do not rule out that they could add fraud charges against them. Other suspects may also appear in the case.
Braun, the founder of the Aschheim-based firm, stepped down in June after EY auditors found a 1.9 billion-euro ($2.1 billion) black hole in Wirecard's balance sheet. Braun was arrested, but then released on bail.
The accounting scandal caused the blue-chip company's shares to plummet. The firm filed for insolvency last week.
