Wirecard Airwaves
About feminine claims and unreal HR matters
May 15, 2024
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Witness hearing of the former Wirecard Head of Human Resources Bettina Funk on May 15, 2024.
The facts listed here do not guarantee a complete record of the witness hearing, they serve to provide a very detailed insight into the questioning of Wirecard witnesses. Due to the complex and sometimes verbally rapid questions and witness statements, minor errors may have
Bettina Funk was Head of Human Resources at Wirecard for a long time. She joined the company early on and worked as HR manager until 2020. The judge shows an email from the witness, which, contrary to the otherwise usual practice of full disclosure of any emails on the verge of public defamation, the judge believes he is now suddenly able to be presented in a disclosed manner in front of his desk. All the defense lawyers huddle at the judge chair to study the email, the witness also reads it. The judge asks the witness to confirm that the email was hers. Witness Funk tells she cannot remember it, as it was, quote, "referred to her by Munich's public prosecutor's office".
The witness Bettina Funk provides further insights regarding her ominous email, which the judge, contrary to usual practice, had disclosed for inspection at his desk. In particular, when it comes to Finance Director von Erffa, for whom Munich judicial press representatives apparently specially summoned the mass media outlet WirtschaftsWoche past week's Monday for an expert's statements on autism. Bettina Funk, meanwhile, explains that she herself was, quote, "mentally ill at the time the email statement was written".
A few years ago, shortly after Bettina Funk was summoned and interviewed by the Munich public prosecutor's office, she was called up by at least one press editor-in-chief, she was, quote, "blackmailed into giving an interview to a press outlet". She phoned her contact at the Munich public prosecutor's office and asked irritated how the editor was able to obtain her email. Funk: "The public prosecutor's office wanted to calm me down, I was told they had forwarded nothing to the editor-in-chief".
Shortly after, the judge states he had not thrown the email onto the court projector because it showed shows that a Wirecard employee had allegedly become pregnant. Whether the witness was really serious at the time, the judge demands, as this employee was actually Dr. Braun's secretary. Funk answers that she had been informed of it by Burkhard Ley. The judge went on to ask whether she had been personally informed of the employee's alleged pregnancy by the person herself. Funk: "No".
The judge explains that this is not a very credible statement, as she also expressed in her email regarding the pregnant employee that Funk was able to, quote, "dispose of the problem with Ms. X". Funk replies calmly that she "was mentally ill at the time". The judge goes on to ask what the reason for this "disposal" was.
Funk explains that the person in question was to be assigned other tasks in the IT department and that her responsibilities and competencies in the respective department that she had helped to set up were to be changed. This offer was rejected by the employee in question, Bettina Funk tells the court she "believes the employee in question soon went into sick leave".
Funk explains that the person in question was to be assigned other tasks in the IT department and that her responsibilities and competencies in the respective department that she had helped to set up were to be changed. This offer was rejected by the employee in question, Bettina Funk tells the court she "believes the employee in question soon went into sick leave".
The judge looks at some documents, and tells there were allegedly and supposedly - according to statements by some at Wirecard - further intimate management board relationships with a certain Camilla and also a certain Karina. The judge mentions that these rtelationships had been connected to Dr. Braun. He asks whether Funk had known these employess and could confirm the circumstances. Dr. Braun's defence lawyer, Therese Krausslach, now intervenes and asks the judge to refrain from this type of questioning: "That's enough now, you are welcome to ask whether the witness knows theses persons, but not whether there were any alleged relationships here".
The judge calls for a motion to this effect, which Dr. Braun's defence counsel immediately provides in an oral form. The court then retires and discusses the motion behind closed doors for about 25 minutes. After returning, the presiding judge reads out the decision with a speed rarely seen before. It is impossible to follow the statements in the press galleries, let alone find out or write down the legal details. The judge acknowledges at the end of his statement that Dr. Braun's defense counsel objected to the questions about Dr. Braun's alleged relationships.
The judge then continues his fishing expedition and goes on asking about Dr. Braun's alleged relationships without much hesitation. One of these alleged relationships was not communicated to the witness directly by the respective employee, but via Markus Eichinger, who was the superior of this female Wirecard employee. Funk was told by Eichinger that Dr. Braun allegedly "was all into her", but the lady in question "didn't want anything from Braun". Did she herself have a conversation with the lady in question, the judge asks.
Funk tells an astouned audience - apart from a few radical feminists in the room - that she offered Eichinger a personal conversation with the employee in question and waited for the employee to get in contact with Funk. However, this offer was "never accepted", there was never a personal conversation between the HR manager and the respective employee.
There was apparently an additional alleged relationship with another Wirecard employee. Here as well, the witness was only told about it through chatter over coffee and cake on the Wirecard floors and social meeting rooms.
Funk tells an astouned audience - apart from a few radical feminists in the room - that she offered Eichinger a personal conversation with the employee in question and waited for the employee to get in contact with Funk. However, this offer was "never accepted", there was never a personal conversation between the HR manager and the respective employee.
There was apparently an additional alleged relationship with another Wirecard employee. Here as well, the witness was only told about it through chatter over coffee and cake on the Wirecard floors and social meeting rooms.
The judge then discussed a number of HR-related cases that were somewhat conspicuous. One of these was related to Wirecard's in-house janitor, who was reprimanded for apparently ordering certain work in order to "enrich himself". According to the judge, Ms. Görres had allegedly dealt with the janitor matter personally with none other than the Chairman of the Executive Board, Dr. Markus Braun himself. Apparently, this lead to nothing according to Funk. She further states that she "never understood why they wouldn't investigate the matter more closely".
Another matter had arisen around Wirecard's car dealer. According to the judge, there were also irregularities here. Funk states that Ms. Görres had requested account statements from the car dealer, which, according to Bettina Funk, "was not enough to deal with the issue".
Another matter had arisen around Wirecard's car dealer. According to the judge, there were also irregularities here. Funk states that Ms. Görres had requested account statements from the car dealer, which, according to Bettina Funk, "was not enough to deal with the issue".
The strange HR cases continue with a matter concerning the managing director of Wirecard UK and Ireland (WUKI). The Director had, quote, "flirted with a colleague in England, both found each other attractive(!) and had consensual sex". The lady then fell in love with her German manager and wanted more, but he had a family and children in Germany and wanted to end the relationship. He then illegally terminated the contract "in disregard of the principle of dual control". The compliance and legal departments were called in. Marsalek informed the witness and HR manager Funk that the promotion of the managing director to, quote, "Singapore" was suspended, which was then promptly promised to him anyway. Witness Funk did not quite agree to this practise.
Another issue arose due to the behavior of a sales employee. He wanted a salary increase, more than what was granted to him shortly before. While the witness was on vacation, this sales employee went to HR payroll accounting department and told the employees there that they had made a mistake and that he should be paid more. According to the witness, he also allegedly "sexually assaulted" a female colleague and a harrassed a homosexual Wirecard employee in Austria. Marsalek and Braun had taken up the matter and talked to the salesman. Some time later, this exact same salesman told the witness that he had "spoken to Dr. Braun only about his sales figures". The witness found and still finds this incomprehensible.
The judge mentions another matter concerning the conclusion of a new health insurance package by the HR department, which was to be offered to all employees. The witness explained that von Knoop had been friends with a certain Mr. Moser at Allianz. After two offers for a new health insurance policy had been obtained by her HR department, von Knoop approached the witness and "quickly and emphatically" submitted the offer from Allianz AG to her.
The public prosecutor then questioned the witness about the relationship between Dr. Braun and Ms. Stöckl. Funk states that Dr. Braun "held Stöckl in very high esteem", he demanded a lot from her, constantly new press releases and news about technical developments, Stöckl was under a lot of pressure. The public prosecutor reads out the witness's statements from a few years ago, in which she is said to have stated, quote, "Stöckl was constantly beaten down by Dr. Braun". The witness looks somewhat puzzled and says that there was a lot of pressure on Ms. Stöckl.
The public prosecutor also asked whether employees were bypassed in their areas of responsibility by others, and if so, who gave the instructions. Ms. Stöckl was complemented by the Investor Relations department, where it had happened sometimes. Ley also allowed requests to be bypassed. Ms. Görres had personally complained in front of the witness in her office that Burkhard Ley often interfered in her area.
The public prosecutor also asked whether employees were bypassed in their areas of responsibility by others, and if so, who gave the instructions. Ms. Stöckl was complemented by the Investor Relations department, where it had happened sometimes. Ley also allowed requests to be bypassed. Ms. Görres had personally complained in front of the witness in her office that Burkhard Ley often interfered in her area.
Dr. Braun's defense asks about bonus payments for Wirecard employees. Whether a bonus payment of 12,000 euros for an employee of Oliver Bellenhaus was normal? Bettina Funk stated that this bonus payment was unusually high for an assistant position and that she could remember it well. Regarding the matter with the managing director from England and his relationship, she informed the defense that Marsalek had campaigned for a later transfer of the gentleman to "Singapore", Funk had not even learned whether a job position had even been created there.
The defense of Dr. Braun explains that, after compliance checks, allegations of sexual nature had been made, also with regard to the head of the Wirecard Bank, Rainer Wexeler. Could the witness tell anything about this? Funk states: "Wexeler had received an official disapproval notice from us". After this statement, she immediately tells that she "did not know whether sexual acts had taken place". She had "noticed that Wexeler had abused his position to make women feel attractive to him". Wexeler had allegedly expressed his private interest to women, if this was not accepted, Wexeler had allegedly "degraded the women". Note: Wexeler had successfully appealed court-appealed against Funk's disapproval notice, which later had to be deleted from his HR file entirely - circumstances the witness does not mention, and which she is not confronted with here whatsoever.
Von Erffa's defense takes over and asks the witness about her title Chief Human Resource Officer, which she had used multiple times. Funk explains that she used this title for some time on social media channels after looking for a good English translation for her EVP position as Head of HR. She explains that she had a high degree of autonomy for strategic decisions in HR, she spent a lot of time standardizing business processes with foreign subsidiaries. Subsidiaries were largely independent in their HR decisions within a budget.
When asked by von Erffa's lawyers, Bettina Funk explained that she had moved her office one floor down from the board floor to the third floor at around 2015. She is asked whether she was able to locate Mr. von Erffa's office. The witness takes a pause and says, quote: "I can't remember". Did CEO Dr. Braun visit the witness in her office? Funk explains that for a while there was a project in which Dr. Braun personally visited a different Wirecard department once a month. In this regard, Dr. Braun interacted with the witness and often came down to visit her office.
Dr. Braun asks the witness personally how she was able to recognize which office Mr. von Erffa or Jan Marsalek went to when she had been located on the third floor since 2015. She says that she "drew her conclusions as to where they would head to".
Dr. Braun asks the witness personally how she was able to recognize which office Mr. von Erffa or Jan Marsalek went to when she had been located on the third floor since 2015. She says that she "drew her conclusions as to where they would head to".
Oliver Bellenhaus concludes by questioning the witness in person, stating that they had been talking each other in the German informal "Du" form for a long time and that he "apologizes for having to utilise the formal 'Sie' now" here in court. He points out that the managing director from England was perhaps not supposed to be transferred to Singapore at the time, but to the USA. Funk confirms and apologizes for the confusion, saying that the issue happened a long time ago.
Bellenhaus asks what an expatriate relocation service looked like in detail, i.e. whether and how kindergarden places, private schools, etc. were part of the packages paid by Wirecard. Funk explains that there were several different packages carried out by an external service provider. Bellenhaus asks what a managing director's salary was. Around 3,000 euros, Funk states.
Bellenhaus asks what an expatriate relocation service looked like in detail, i.e. whether and how kindergarden places, private schools, etc. were part of the packages paid by Wirecard. Funk explains that there were several different packages carried out by an external service provider. Bellenhaus asks what a managing director's salary was. Around 3,000 euros, Funk states.
Bellenhaus throws documents onto the projector, which show that there was a so-called "salary badge project" at place at Wirecard at a certain time. Different colors on badges were supposed to make it possible to immediately identify the salary classification of each employee. As part of the project, employees were about to be receive a salary increase of about 20%. Bellenhaus asks why he was not included in the corresponding list for salary increases. Witness Funk states this was because he was working abroad in Dubai at the time. The witness is unsworn from the witness stand at around 1pm.
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