German prosecutors charge 3 with fraud in Wirecard collapse

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German prosecutors have charged the former CEO of payments company Wirecard and two other ex-managers with fraud and false accounting in connection with the firm’s collapse last year. The charges Monday come amid allegations that much of the company’s sales revenue and assets were faked. Prosecutors in Munich say ex-CEO Markus Braun signed off on financial reports he knew were false that inflated the firm’s sales. They said the firm booked nonexistent revenue it attributed to multiple partnerships in other countries and used fake documents to show it had funds that it did not. The firm’s former head of accounting and managing director of a Dubai-based subsidiary were also charged. Braun’s attorney calls the charges “seriously flawed.”