Markus Braun

Markus Braun
Born	1969 Vienna, Austria
Occupation(s)	Technology investor, former CEO and CTO of Wirecard AG
Known for	Former CEO and CTO of Wirecard AG

Markus Braun (born 1969) is an Austrian technology investor and the former CEO and CTO of the now-defunct payment processing company Wirecard AG. He held these positions from January 2002 until his resignation and subsequent arrest in June 2020. Braun stepped down amid allegations of fraud, which he has consistently denied. Initially, he was held in pre-trial detention at Augsburg-Gablingen prison before being transferred to Stadelheim prison in Munich in November 2022. On December 8, 2022, criminal proceedings involving him and two other former Wirecard executives commenced at the Munich regional court. As of 2024, legal proceedings remain ongoing.

Early life

Born in Vienna, Markus Braun is the son of a director of a Folk high school and a teacher. He completed his studies at the Technical University of Vienna, earning a degree in commercial computer science and business administration. In 2000, he obtained a PhD in social and economic sciences from the University of Vienna.

Career

Braun started his professional journey as a consultant at Contrast Management Consulting GmbH until 1998, after which he joined KPMG Consulting AG in Munich, where he worked until 2001.

Wirecard

In 2002, Braun entered Wirecard AG's executive board and assumed the roles of CEO and CTO. Wirecard, based in Germany, grew into one of the leading global platforms for digital financial commerce and was listed among Germany's Top 30 companies on the DAX stock index. Forbes recognized it as one of the “Top 100 Most Innovative Growth Companies.”

Although some of Braun’s assertions faced skepticism—such as claims about deploying sophisticated AI technologies in 2017 that were later contradicted by evidence pointing to manual spreadsheet management—he remained Wirecard’s principal shareholder, holding over 7% of its shares. Reappointed as CEO in 2017, Braun focused on advancing the worldwide digitization of payment systems and establishing Wirecard as an industry frontrunner.

By 2018, with more than fifteen years’ experience in digital payments, Braun was a regular presence at industry conferences and media interviews. He forecasted that within ten years, retail payment infrastructures would predominantly become digital, relegating cash transactions to rare exceptions. He stressed that technological innovations must provide tangible benefits to both consumers and merchants to succeed.

In September 2018, the value of Braun’s shares exceeded EUR 1.6 billion. By June 2020, he had reduced his holdings to roughly 2.5%, resulting in sales totaling EUR 155 million.

Resignation and arrest

In June 2020, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) lodged complaints against Markus Braun and other Wirecard executives for allegedly issuing misleading statements in mandatory disclosures. On June 18, Wirecard’s stock price plummeted by more than 70% amid suspicions of fraud and auditors’ refusal to certify the annual report due to missing documents.

Following the discovery that over US$2 billion was unaccounted for in company accounts, Braun resigned as CEO on June 19. In 2017, Deutsche Bank had extended him a €150 million loan secured by half of his 7% stake in Wirecard; this loan was not renewed after fraud allegations surfaced. On June 22, German police arrested Braun on suspicion of accounting fraud and market manipulation but released him on bail amounting to €5 million the following day. The supervisory board dismissed him on June 30, and he was re-arrested on July 22.

In March 2022, prosecutors in Munich formally charged Braun along with two former executives with fraud, breach of trust, and manipulation of accounting records; convictions could carry sentences up to fifteen years imprisonment. Braun maintains his innocence and asserts that he is a victim of fraudulent activities.

According to prosecutors, Braun orchestrated fictitious transactions involving third parties based on statements from former manager Oliver Bellenhaus. The missing €1.9 billion linked to these transactions precipitated Wirecard’s collapse in 2020. However, insolvency administrator Michael Jaffe found no proof that these deals actually took place.

Advisory roles

Braun provided consultancy services to Deutsche Bank in the realm of digital banking. Beginning in 2017, he was involved with the "Staff Unit for Strategy, Analysis and Planning" (Think Austria), operating under the administration of Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz. This entity was disbanded during the tenure of the Bierlein government but was subsequently reinstated following the 2019 Austrian legislative election with the formation of the Second Kurz government. Although Antonella Mei-Pochtler, who led the unit, identified him as an expert in January 2020, a spokesperson from the Federal Chancellery later confirmed that Braun had ended his participation after investigations into accounting fraud commenced. On June 23, 2020, Kurz publicly distanced himself from Braun.

Party donations

Between 2014 and 2016, Braun contributed EUR 125,000 to NEOS. Additionally, during the campaign for the 2017 Austrian legislative election, Braun donated EUR 70,000 to the Austrian People's Party, then headed by Sebastian Kurz, whom he openly supported.

Bibliography

• Dan McCrum, Money Men: A Hot Startup, A Billion Dollar Fraud, A Fight for the Truth (Bantam Press, 2022)