Wirecard Sacked, Season 1: Eight episode, The confession

An investigative podcast about the Wirecard scandal in Munich's Stadelheim court

Another episode of the 'Wirecard Sacked' podcast, this season 1 is about detailed insider accounts of the proceedings in Munich's Stadelheim prison courtroom that have been going on for well over a year.

This is the eigth episode about the Wirecard trial.

Contents:
The psychological book with seven seals (→ 00:37)
The interrogation of Frederick Huber (→ 01:47)
The chief accountant gets going (→ 03:14)
The valuable confession (→ 06:00)
The legal simulation in Stadelheim (→ 07:24)
The dangerous omissions of information (→ 09:53)
The hotel in Schwabing (→ 11:29)
A crown witness shall not lie endlessly (→ 13:02)

Season 1, Episode 8

Wirecard Sacked - The Court Proceeding

00:00

Here the link to the article about the interrogation of Maria LaCruz and Frederick Huber:
La Vie en Wirecard - About strong Spanish financial analyses and weak French allegations

Here is the link to the article about the minutes of the hearing behind closed doors at the beginning of June - not July - 2024, which were read out at breakneck speed:
Wirecard Rogue - About crazy judiciary talks and on-target court motions

Here is the link to the article about the questioning of the Commerzbank witnesses:
Money launding is not my thing - About Commerzbank and cancelled Wirecard credit lines

Here is the article about alleged falsification of invoices in a Munich hotel:
Hotel Wirecard - About broccoli and roastbeef in Munich hotel rooms

And here is a link to an article worth reading about the circumstances surrounding the former chief accountant from summer 2024:
The Wirecard Summer Gap - About extorted confessions and Bavarian radio news

Previous
Episode 7 - The Jailbreak

Next
Episode 9 - Cross Examinations


Transcript 

(Music) 

Wirecard Sacked, The Sun24 News Podcast, Season 1, Episode 8. 

Martin: Now it's slowly, literally opening up, the former chief accountant of Erffa, that started at the end of winter, beginning of spring 2024. To explain further, it must be explained again that Erffa, the former chief accountant, was diagnosed with an ADHD disorder in his childhood. A psychological expert who attended the proceedings at regular intervals and then observed Erffa. I never actually found out who it was, whether the court really had the ball in their court and wanted Erffa to calculate it or whether it was the defense. So for me it was always, to this day, like a book with seven sails, like this expert opinion. 

Jörg: I also have a bit of an idea. I have an undergraduate degree in psychology and I also observed Erffa in the courtroom and that's why I always found the idea of autism or something else abstruse. 

Martin: I would say that this autism thing can be summarized as, there's nothing there. 

Jörg: Yes, von Erffa also said in his statement that he doesn't feel ill. So he doesn't see himself as mentally ill in any way and I would agree with that. Do you remember the questions that were asked again and again? How does Erffa sort his pens on the desk? I couldn't. So please, please do the assessment, I could have done that with my undergraduate degree. Totally grotesque. 

Martin: Then it fits again wonderfully, because a few weeks before this presentation by the expert witness, a certain Ms. La Cruz testified on one day, not alone, but with another, a French employee, a certain Mr. Huber, who was employed for reporting and monitoring under Ms. Steidl for the IT department. This Mr. Huber was accused by the public prosecutor's office that he had said in his written interrogation years ago that von Erffa was sexist and choleric. And now, on the day of his testimony, he was confronted with his statement from a few years ago. And then this witness Mr. Huber suddenly stammered out: yes, yes, of course he would see and view that differently today. At that time, he said certain things and at that time he was influenced by press articles that he, you and his people had studied extensively about Erffa at that time in the context of Wirecard's insolvency. At that moment, when the narrative of this accusation that he was sexist and choleric collapsed again, von Erffa raised his hands to the sky, screaming. 

Jörg: Well, he read out his statement. But all in all, there were also situations where he had to acquit himself, where Födisch really got to him. But how did you experience him? 

Martin: Always learning. Yes, and I have to give him credit for being quiet in the courtroom for almost a year and a half. He was, of course, an intense but silent observer and recorder of the entire witness examination. The way the judge conducts the proceedings can be described as exhausting, some people come out and say, I'm being passive-aggressive here. I just have to unload some energy. So it's very exhausting to sit there. Especially when you're a defendant and directly involved in the proceedings. That's why I expected that the rocket wouldn't go off immediately. He has now gone from 0 to 100 with verbal perfection. In the last days of questioning, after he had finished his statements, there were another 5, 6, 7 days in which he was cross-examined again by the judge, and in the end it went well. I had the impression that he got better and better and fitter and fitter. 

Jörg: Yes, that's exactly what I observed. I found it very impressive when you consider what was reported about Mr. von Erffa and how he was portrayed, because the pressure that was put on him, in the run-up to the trial anyway, but also by Födisch, it was immense. And he withstood this pressure. I think there were journalists in the back who thought he was talking out of his ass. Then I said to them, um, do you actually know what the matter is? So, do you know what the accusations are? Do you know what things Bellenhaus accused him of? And he cleared them all away under massive pressure from the judge. So, I would objectively describe it as one-sided, as Födisch asked, one-sided with regard to the fact that he only dealt with incriminating things. And it was precisely this accusation that von Erffa pretty much slammed him over the head with. He said, Mr. Födisch, you only go through incriminating points. You're pulling out emails that are supposed to prove something. And he gave him more slogans than a lot of other witnesses. And I was actually very impressed by that. I mean, I'm going to say a sentence that I can't quite substantiate factually, but I think he paid a certain price for it afterwards. To put it this way, 

Martin: One year's imprisonment is certainly not a short sentence. Of course, there was the extra pressure hammer on top of that. Because there was another legal meeting at the beginning of July. Before the trial, the defense lawyers sat down with the judge and the court and also representatives of the public prosecutor's office and von Erffa negotiated behind closed doors. The very first thing the judge did was to read out the minutes of this hearing behind closed doors. At breakneck speed. Conspicuously, of course, so that many of the listeners and journalists at the back might not even notice what was happening. For some reason, however, he was obliged to at least read out these minutes. He did that formally. In practical terms, it was almost impossible to follow these investigations. And two weeks before von Erffa began to present his official statements or his intended confession, he was given the prospect of six to eight years in prison. But only, and now comes the judge, only if the chief accountant would deliver a, and I quote, valuable confession in about two weeks. Järg: Yes, but that's exactly what was wrong with the situation, because this message went out. And even while he was still testifying, I think on the first or second day of testimony, the court spokesman Lafleur said during the court break, I think it was in the Augsburger Allgemeine, yes, so far it's nothing. He shows remorse, but remorse is not a confession. Even at the moment when Mr. Lafleur said that, von Erffa had already cleared up some of the accusations. So an image is simply being created of a procedural reality that is not there. That's what makes me more and more stunned, like a parallel world, like a simulation. Stadelheim is a simulation of the rule of law. 

Martin: In the days and weeks before, very, very important witnesses were heard. For example, those from Commerzbank, who were practically buried in the mass media reports. In other words, they ignored the reality that took place there. Commerzbank, which was responsible for lending Wirecard hundreds of millions. And also a money laundering expert who explained that a number of money laundering reports were forwarded to the German FIU, the German state's money laundering authority, at a very early stage. And the FIU forwarded some of these money laundering reports to the LKA Bavaria. It was all buried because the confession from Erffa was coming soon. 

Jörg: Yes, and shortly before the statement came, they backtracked slightly. They said very interestingly that there would be no confession, so Erffa's statement was virtually worthless. And that is the absurdity of it all. I mean, he read out 200 pages, I think. And take a look at what was written in the newspaper reports. Födisch put him under massive pressure. Especially in the first half, von Erffa really did flounder in situations like that, as you alluded to earlier. But he never said I wouldn't answer. He always answered and he always tried to explain himself. And he always tried to explain himself and then always found a new picture. And then maybe sometimes he chose a less than perfect picture or a less than perfect statement. And this statement was reported long and wide in all reports, in unison. Several journalists have picked up on these statements, but have ignored the rest of his statement to this day. Just like the motions for evidence filed shortly before his testimony. I think there was only one Bavarian journalist present at all, who then wrote publicly that he would take a look at these motions, which has not happened to this day. But as I said, these are all things where, as you said earlier, a procedural reality took place that did not find its way into the media. So the portrayal of what happened in Stadelheim - I used the word manipulative and I stand by it.I wrote an article, Volker Terhaseborg, you are manipulating. For me, omitting information is just as much manipulation as false information. 

Martin: In this case, even a step higher, because it puts someone's life in danger. Because I don't know how a Mr. von Erffa will endure six to eight years in prison. And obviously certain mass-media representatives are not so aware of it, or don't they care? I don't know, I have no idea. He came to a point in his presentation where it was about forged invoices. So Oliver Bellenhaus probably accused him at some point in some statement, in some written thing, that he from Erffa had met in a certain hotel in Munich. With Jan Masalek and Oliver Bellenhaus. And there, according to the prosecution's key witness, falsified invoices together with these two. And the one investigated by Erffa explained that this accusation was made. And then suddenly said, I have a receipt here, which he then threw onto the court projector. That this hotel in Schwabing in Munich was only actually opened after the invoice dates. So the hotel was brand new and it was only opened after these allegedly forged invoices were created. At the same time, von Erffa had explained that there was also no hotel room there in which he was present, but only a visit to a restaurant. And he also researched the restaurant employee's invoices and submitted them to the court. So it's a hair-raising story that has been refuted. Where I said again, now the hammer is out, now all the mass media have to report on it. Von Erffa has been exonerated, there's nothing left with six to eight years in prison. And it was completely ignored. Ignored in almost all reports. 

Jörg: Both on the part of von Erffa and in the significance of such tall tales for the key witness. A key witness must not lie endlessly. A key witness must tell the whole truth, right from the start. A key witness whose central statements are refuted in the course of the main proceedings is no longer a key witness, but a liar. And it is even a particularly serious offense. There is a fact that if you lie as a key witness, it is particularly serious. And I don't know whether Mr. Bellenhaus is actually aware of what he's getting himself into. I mean, it just so happens that he was released on the exact day of his prison sentence, as people have calculated. He should now get six to eight years for inventing the whole TPA story, together with a few people. 

Martin: Von Erffa? 

Jörg: No, no, Bellenhaus. There is the statement that Bellenhaus actually falsified the transactions. He says on the instructions of Erffa and von Braun that it's not proven. But what is proven is what Bellenhaus himself said, that he sat in Dubai with Kurniawan, Sahu, Jan Marsalek and falsified it. And he should get away with six to eight years for that. And then there's a higher prison sentence for the one from Erffa, who is the accountant. He says, I've seen the figures. These figures were later confirmed by EY and others. They have been confirmed by the CFO and they want to hang me. So at this point you can see the absurdity again. And it should be said again that a lying key witness is particularly liable to prosecution and is gone as a key witness. And without the testimony of Bellenhaus, Bühring is a naked emperor.

(Music)

Speaker:
Jörg - longtime Wirecard expert and investigator
Martin - Investigative lead at Sun24 News and Wirecard expert

Organization and realization:
Martin D. / Sun24 News

Wirecard Sacked, Season 1: Eight episode, The confession

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The Court Proceeding - Season 1, Episode 10 - Final

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The Court Proceeding - Season 1, Episode 9

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The Court Proceeding - Season 1, Episode 7

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The Court Proceeding - Season 1, Episode 6

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The Court Proceeding - Season 1, Episode 5

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The Court Proceeding - Season 1, Episode 4

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The Court Proceeding - Season 1, Episode 3

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The Court Proceeding - Season 1, Episode 2

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The Court Proceeding - Season 1, Episode 1

The Wirecard Summer Gap

About extorted confessions and Bavarian radio news

Money launding is not my thing

About Commerzbank and cancelled Wirecard credit lines

Wirecard Chances

About supervisory board advising lawyers

The Wirecard PR Court

About an obscure questioning of a Wirecard lawyer

Wirecard Rogue

About crazy judiciary talks and on-target court motions

Wirecard Untangled

About unsolved issues in Germany's master finance scandal

La Vie en Wirecard

About strong Spanish financial analyses and weak French allegations

All Inside The Singapore Folder

About Wirecard book keepings an email conversations

Grand Vision Trust

A Wirecard Bank Director and Relationship Managements

Mount Interim

About a Wirecard interim-CEO on a Swiss rose mountain

Harvesting Wirecard

About Swiss roses and Wirecard bears

The PayLondon Group

About bears from London and Wirecard targetings

Mount Acronis

About a Swiss IT sponsor and Wirecard entanglements

Magic Pav

About a Wirecard whistleblower and magic law firms

The Trial

About a Wirecard release of prisoner and Franz Kafka's unfinished works

The Grand Orchestra

About Wirecard's share price and dolphins against sharks

Mount Wirecard

About Swiss Wirecard entanglements and the remains of Crypto AG

Wirecard Court Halftime

About seven months in Munich Stadelheim and the miracle of Bern

Pandora's Box

About Wirecard's IT Architectures

The Third Man

About Wirecard's interim CEO James Freis and nice shoes

Deflective Attorneys

About a five hours Wirecard indictment

Bavariacard

About a Germanic Wirecard Poker

A Munich Fraud

Wirecard and Munich's Public Prosecutor's Office

Royal Courts of Wirecard

About a Wirecard Lawsuit and Quantum Physics

Brilliant Consultants

About Wirecard's financial auditors and the chess game

Back To The Wirecard

About the roots of the insolvent German payment provider

BaFin The Thirteenth

An April 13th day at the Wirecard investigational committee