a compoundoutsideMoscow?A secrethideaway
inTurkey?A tropicalisland?MarsalekjoinedWirecardin 2000 asanITproject
managerandquicklybuilta reputationforprogram-
ming,gainingtheattentionofBraun,a fellownative
ofVienna.ThetwoAustriansmadeanoddalliance.
Asheroseinthecompany,Marsalekgraduatedfrom
thetypicalcodergarbofbaggyjeansandT-shirt
totailoredsuits,starchedshirts,andVacheron
Constantintimepieces.Braunwenttheotherdirec-
tion,exchanginghissuitandtieforblackturtleneck
sweatersandrimlessspectacles,stylinghimselfasa
GermanicSteveJobs.
Intheearly2000s,beforeMarsalekbecame
COO,theduooftentouredMunich’snightclubsand
wereregularsatPachaBar,anexpensiveblendof
wateringhole,restaurant,anddancehall.Ondimly
litleathersofas,BraunandMarsalekwouldcrack
openmagnumsofChampagnetotoastsuccesses.
UnbeknowntoBraun,Marsaleksometimesordered
teatoavoidgettingoverlydrunkonthebubbly.
AsBraun’sconsigliere,Marsalekwastaskedwith
keepingWirecard’sglobalbusinesshumming—and
expanding.A pillarofitsearlysuccesscamefrom
transactionsfewotherswouldtouch,suchaspro-
cessingpaymentstobusinessesrelatedtogambling
andsexwhileobscuringthetransactions’nature.
Inpaymentprocessing,merchantsaresortedinto
hundredsofcategories,rangingfrombakeriesand
bettingparlors.SomeWirecardprogrammershave
spokenopenlyaboutmaskingmerchants’identities,
whichcanfacilitatemoneylaunderingandcircum-
ventlawsbanningonlinegambling.Fromthatdross,
theduospunWirecardintoa globalpaymentplayer.
Brauntookthecompanypublicin2005,andits
sharesrosedramaticallyasinvestorsrushedtograb
a pieceofthemarketforonlinepayments—making
Brauna billionaire.Afterbuyinghis7%stakeby
pledgingsharesagainsta loanof€400million($475
million),BraunwasfixatedonWirecard’sprice,
constantlyurginghisPRdepartmenttospewout
releasesaboutpartnershipstostokedemand.In
2018,WirecardreplacedGermany’ssecond-largest
lender,CommerzbankAG,inthebenchmarkDAX
index.Shareholders“madea lotofmoneywith
Wirecardovertheyears,sotheytendedtobelieve
thecompany,”saysLeoPerryofEnnismoreFund
ManagementinLondon,whoshortedWirecard’s
stockpriortothecollapse.“Mostinvestorsaren’t
interestedintruth,butinreturns.”
AlthoughWirecardtouteditsrosterofA-list
customers suchasdiscount grocerAldi and
FrenchphonecompanyOrangeSA,thebulkof
itsrevenuecamefromopaqueoutsidepartners33PHOTO
ILLUSTRATION
BY
PHOTO:
BKA
“Sorry for all
the trouble
we’re causing.”beclearlycooked.Everytimenewallegations
ofaccountingirregularitiessurfaced,Wirecard
pushedbackwithrosyforecastsanda cleanbill
ofhealthfromauditors,winningmoretimeto
staveofffailure.Butit wasboundtocollapse,and
collapseit didafterthecompanyonJune 22 said
morethan$2billionincashit hadreportedas
missinglikelyneverexisted.
It tooka decadeanda halfforWirecard’sstock
toclimbabove€100,butonlya fewdaysforit to
plummetintopenny-stockterritory.Wirecard’s
fallhasreverberatedinBerlin’spoliticalestablish-
ment,whichhadseenthecompanyasanavatarof
Germany’stechambitions,a new-economyjugger-
nauttorivalSiliconValley’sgiants.Thecountry’s
biggestcompaniesspecializeinautomotiveand
engineering—sturdyandreliablebutwitha whiff
ofyesteryear.Wirecard,whichappearedtobe
bookingfatprofitsprocessingonlinepaymentsfor
companiesworldwide,heraldeda brightfuture.
ChiefExecutiveOfficerMarkusBraunbuiltclose
tiesatthechancellery,seniorpoliticianstoured
Wirecard’sofficesontheoutskirtsofMunich,and
itsexecutivesjoinedofficialgovernmentdelega-
tionsabroad.
Thatallendedlastsummer,andtodayGerman
lawmakersaresteppinguptheirinquestintothe
affair,grillingwitnessesatregularvirtualhearings.
Braunis indetention,hiswingmanMarsalekis on
therun,andregulatorsandtopauditingfirmsare
facingquestionsovertheirfailuretospotthefraud.
Thisstoryisbasedoninterviewswithformer
colleaguesandfriendsofMarsalek,whospokeon
conditionofanonymitytodiscussprivatematters.
Braun,whodidn’treplywhencontactedthroughhis
lawyer,is likelytoremainbehindbarsformonths
whileauthoritiespreparecharges.
Hoursafterbeingsuspendedfromhisjobon
June18,Marsalekvanishedandis nowonInterpol’s
most-wantedlist.Twophotosofhim—inonehe’s
sportinga thickbeardandtheothera dayortwo
ofstubble—aredisplayedonwantedpostersand
billboardsatsubwaystations,busstops,andtraffic
junctionsacrossGermany.
Marsaleknolongerrepliestomessagestohis
mobilephone,andhislawyerinGermanydidn’t
respondtoa requestforcomment.OnJune20,
MarsalektextedBloombergNewssaying,“Sorry
forallthetroublewe’recausing.”Fivedayslater,
inanexchangewitha confidantviatheTelegram
messagingapp,hesaidhehadn’t“decidedyet
whethertoreturntomorroworstayherewith
myfriends”—without specifying where “here”
might be. Media speculation over his where-
abouts smacks of a spy novel: Is he hibernating in◼ FINANCE Bloomberg Businessweek November 16, 2020