Munich prosecutors have arrested the head of a Dubai-based Wirecard subsidiary on suspicion of fraud.
Oliver Bellenhaus, who ran Wirecard’s CardSystems Middle East, is the second executive to be arrested, after CEO Markus Braun, in relation to the German payment giant's accounting scandal.
Bellenhaus was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud, attempted fraud and aiding and abetting other crimes after travelling from Dubai to Munich and handing himself in. He will remain in police custody because he is considered a flight risk.
Wirecard has filed for insolvency after being forced to disclose that EUR1.9 billion was missing from its balance sheet. According to the Financial Times, EUR1.1 billion of this was said to be in two accounts in the name of CardSystems.
Prosecutors are investigating several other unnamed suspects. One possible target is former COO Jan Marsalek, who has been missing since his dismissal from the firm last month.