Wirecard Ex-boss Braun Arrested as Creditors Hunt Lost Billions

Wirecard’s former boss was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of falsifying accounts.

Markus Braun, CEO of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions attends the company's annual news conference in Aschheim near Munich, Germany on April 25, 2019. Michael Dalder/Reuters

MUNICH/FRANKFURT—Wirecard’s former boss was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of falsifying accounts, after the German payments firm disclosed a $2.1 billion financial hole and questioned whether trustees had actually held money on its behalf.

Markus Braun turned himself in to prosecutors in Munich on Monday after traveling from Vienna. A judge was due to rule later on whether to keep the 50-year-old Austrian in investigative custody or grant him bail.