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Philippine investigators accuse ex-executive of Wirecard of committing fraud, cybercrime

Philippine Secretary of Justice Menardo Guevarra said the country's investigators have logged a complaint against former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of German payment firm Wirecard, Jan Marsalek, regarding fraud and cyber crime accusations.
Philippine investigators accuse ex-executive of Wirecard of committing fraud, cybercrime ảnh 1German payments firm Wirecard (Photo: FT)

Manila (VNA) - Philippine Secretary of Justice MenardoGuevarra said the country's investigators have logged a complaint against former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of German payment firm Wirecard, Jan Marsalek, regarding fraud and cyber crime accusations.

Guevarra told AFP that the National Bureau of Investigation lodged the complaint on May 31against Marsalek, as well as aManila lawyer and bank employees on Wirecard's alleged bank fraud. Stateprosecutors are conducting a preliminary investigation which would determineif charges would be filed.

Marsalek was responsiblefor Wirecard's Asia business. In August 2020, Interpol and the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA) have extended the arrest warrant for Marsalek, who was remaining at large.Marsalek was suspected, along with other defendants, of inflating total assetsand sales through fake transactions. According to the Munich prosecutor, thescam cost banks and investors more than 3 billion EUR (3.6 billion USD).

Wirecard used to be one of the"rising stars" in the financial technology sector in Germany.However, last year, the company had to file for bankruptcy protection afteradmitting that 1.9 billion EUR (2.3 billion USD) was missing from thecompany's balance sheet. Wirecard said the money was supposedly held in trustin two Philippine lenders to cover trading risks carried out by third partieson Wirecard's behalf.

But in June 2020,  auditorsErnst & Young said they were unable to find it, forcing the company toadmit the money did not exist.

The Philippine central bank said previously that the money never entered the country's financial system./.

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