Two former Wirecard execs given prison sentences

Two former employees of scandal-hit payments firm Wirecard have been handed prison sentences for their roles in conspiring to misappropriate funds.

James Wardhana was sentenced to 21 months in jail and Chai Ai Lim to 10 months by a Singapore state court on Tuesday. The sentences take place with immediate effect.

Both were charged in 2022, along with two others.

The prison sentences relate to the biggest fraud in German history.

The scandal first emerged at the German fintech in 2019 after media reports highlighted alleged accounting irregularities in Wirecard’s Asian operations.

Wirecard, once heralded as one of Europe’s most successful startups and valued at £22.9bn, collapsed in June 2020 after it was forced to admit a major fraud worth billions.

The two former finance executives were active participants and “not merely the proverbial arms and legs of the scheme,” deputy public prosecutor Vincent Ong said.

The criminal convictions mark the first linked to fraud at the payments firm.

Wirecard units that operated in Singapore had been asked to cease their payment activities in 2020.

Wirecard CEO Markus Braun (pictured) and two senior managers are facing charges of fraud, embezzlement and accounting and market manipulation in an ongoing trial following Wirecard’s collapse.