With the lawsuit, the law firm Aigner, Lehner, Zusin and Partner wants to fight a precedent. There is no class action in Austria, which is why the lawsuit by an investor from the Kitzbühel area was first brought, said Roman Taudes from the law firm to ORF Tirol on Thursday. But there are a large number of Austrian victims in the Wirecard affair. The law firm is in contact with other affected parties and also works with lawyers in Germany.
Delivery of the lawsuit delayed by detention
“The lawsuit against ex-CEO Braun is an accompanying measure to the claims to be pursued in Germany, especially against the auditor,” said Taudes. According to the lawyer, the role of the domestic banks should also be examined.
In the specific case, the delivery of the lawsuit was affected by new developments in the investigation against Braun in Germany. The former Wirecard CEO was initially released after his arrest in Germany against a million-dollar bail. A good three weeks ago, however, the suspect was imposed in custody. The complaint therefore had to be served via the relevant prison in Germany.
Tyrolean plaintiff wants investment back including interest
The plaintiff wants his money invested in Wirecard shares back, including 4 percent interest, and wants to return his shares in return. Braun acted “illegally and culpably”, and in particular he must be liable for incorrect information about the true financial and economic data of Wirecard AG, argue the Tyrolean’s lawyers. They did not want to provide any information on the total.
The lawyers also believe that Austrian banks are responsible for recommending investments to their customers in the now insolvent Wirecard AG. This also includes financial institutions that were lenders for Wirecard. It must be checked whether there was a conflict of interest here.
Billions only exist on paper
According to German investigators, the insolvent payment processor Wirecard systematically falsified balance sheets and inflated sales for years. Wirecard is said to have been made more valuable and financially strong through invented transactions, the public prosecutor believes.
On this basis, banks and other investors would have provided the joint stock company with a total of 3.2 billion euros. The money is likely to be lost. It was not until a special audit in the spring that the auditors also raised doubts about the figures. In mid-June, for example, it was found that around 1.9 billion euros, which were supposedly in trust accounts with Philippine banks, did not exist – as did large parts of Wirecard’s Asian business.
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