Police clarify ‘erroneous perceptions’ of Singapore’s handling of Wirecard fraud probe
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has been working closely with the German authorities in investigating fraud committed by Wirecard and providing assistance to further their probe.
The police statement on Friday comes amid the ongoing trial of Wirecard’s former chief executive, Markus Braun, which has sparked what SPF says are “erroneous perceptions” of Singapore’s handling of the case.
The payment processing firm had filed for insolvency in June 2020 after discrepancies were found in its accounts, revealing that €1.9 billion (S$2.7 billion) was missing.
That same month, Braun was arrested by the German authorities, who had begun investigating the company’s inflated balance sheet total and sales volume.
The authorities here had reacted nine days after Wirecard announced it was filing for insolvency, with the first criminal prosecutions taking place on July 4, 2020.
In Singapore, seven individuals linked to the case have already been charged with a range of offences, including criminal breach of trust, falsifying accounts and money laundering.
Two of the individuals, R. Shanmugaratnam and James Henry O’Sullivan, will stand trial on July 31 and Aug 11, respectively.
The police said: “Our close cooperation with the German authorities includes the sharing of information on the case with our German counterparts.
“In line with international practice, such sharing was carried out on a confidential basis, so as not to jeopardise ongoing investigations and criminal legal proceedings in Singapore.”
Similarly, when receiving information shared by the German authorities on a confidential basis, Singapore’s law enforcement authorities ensure that this confidentiality is preserved so as not to compromise their ongoing investigations and court cases.
The police said that although they had voluntarily extended their cooperation to foreign counterparts, Singapore law does not permit the use of statements recorded by law enforcement here for foreign court proceedings.
Nevertheless, the police said they have also been exploring other alternatives to the use of their statements in German court proceedings with the German counterparts.
Meanwhile, the German authorities had not submitted any request to extradite any of the implicated individuals from Singapore, with the police noting that proceedings could commence only when a request has been made.
As investigations and legal proceedings are under way, the police said they could not comment on specific issues relating to the case.
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