Wirecard: The Austrian Network
After six years in custody awaiting trial, Markus Braun faces sentencing. However, the Wirecard scandal's connections to Austria and the role of fugitive Jan Marsalek remain incompletely clarified.
The criminal trial against former Wirecard chief executive officer Markus Braun is approaching its end. The Munich I Regional Court rejected a request from the defense to suspend the proceedings on October 8, 2026. The closing arguments are scheduled to take place at the end of October or beginning of November.
Braun, an Austrian citizen, has been in pretrial detention since July 2020. The now 56-year-old continues to deny all fraud allegations and points to his former board colleague Jan Marsalek.
Two Austrians at the Center of the Scandal
The collapse of the former DAX-listed group in June 2020, after alleged trust assets of 1.9 billion euros could not be verified, developed into one of Germany's largest business scandals.
But two of the central figures are from Austria: Markus Braun and Jan Marsalek.
While Braun is standing trial in Munich, Marsalek has been a fugitive since June 2020. According to international investigations, he is said to have fled to Russia and maintains connections to Russian intelligence services there.
Particularly explosive are his former contacts with Austrian politicians, former intelligence service employees, and persons from the security apparatus. These connections have already been the subject of parliamentary investigations and journalistic research.
With this, Wirecard is not only a German accounting scandal, but also an Austrian intelligence and security affair.
On the trail of Markus Braun in Vienna
Braun's earlier activities and his personal environment in Austria were also investigated journalistically.
oe24 business chief Aaron Brüstle researched Braun's past in Vienna several years ago together with Austrian business and cybersecurity expert Cornelius Granig and Yanus publisher.
oe24 published a photo of this research again on October 11, 2026, on the occasion of a report about the upcoming trial finale.
Photo caption: oe24 business chief Aaron Brüstle (left) and Cornelius Granig during research into Markus Braun's past in Vienna. Photo: © TZOE Kernmayer / oe24, October 11, 2026.
New questions about the Wirecard business
Braun's defense wanted to suspend the proceedings, among other things, because of possible new findings from another criminal trial.
In connection with the Koblenz proceedings „Operation Chargeback,“ possible links between former Wirecard business activities, international payment flows, and the environment of Jan Marsalek are being discussed.
This concerns the question of whether parts of the controversial third-party business actually existed and possibly diverted revenues to Wirecard. This claim has not yet been confirmed in court.
The trial ends, the investigation does not
Even if the Munich court renders a verdict in the coming months, significant questions will remain unanswered.
What role did Austrian networks play in the activities of Jan Marsalek? Who supported his international contacts? And where did the money from the controversial third-party business flow?
The Wirecard trial could soon be concluded. The investigation into the Austrian connections is far from over.
Sources
oe24, Aaron Brüstle, 11. October 2026: „6 Years in Custody: Thriller in the Wirecard Finale“