Three former Wirecard executives, including CEO Markus Braun, have been order to pay €140 million plus interest to the former administrator of the bankrupt payments group.
The ruling ends a long-running suit brought by Wireard administrator Michael Jaffé over losses on loans to fraudulent business partners in Asia.
Braun, former chief financial officer Alexander von Knoop and former chief product officer Susanne Steidl have been found personally liable for the losses incurred on a $100 million unsecured loan and the purchase of securities bonds from a purported outsourcing business in Singapore just months before Wirecard collapsed.
In its ruling the Munich court said that the board’s decision was “untenable and at odds with the duty of care of a prudent businessman”.
The news is another personal blow to Braun, who has had his assets siezed and continues to face criminal charges over the implosion of Wirecard, which crashed into insolvency in 2020.