Pav Gill, the Singaporean lawyer who blew the whistle on the massive fraud committed by German financial services firm Wirecard, will not appear in court in Munich on Wednesday after resigning on short notice, the court announced on Tuesday.
The court did not mention Gill in its announcement.
The lawyer worked for Wirecard’s legal department in Singapore, where he encountered suspicious trading. He reported his suspicions to Wirecard’s headquarters in Munich.
When management took no action, he passed his information on to journalists, prosecutors and accountants.
The London newspaper Financial Times published an initial article based on Gill’s information in February 2019. A series of revelations followed.
Former Wirecard head Markus Braun has been in custody for more than four years as the complex case progresses.
The Financial Times had been reporting suspected irregularities at the payment provider for years. But Gill was the first person to provide specific information to the newspaper about fraudulent business activity that boosted Wirecard’s balance sheet.
Security issues?
One of the reasons cited by court sources for Gill’s absence was that the witness feared for his safety, despite the courtroom being an underground, high-security structure within the confines of the prison to which outsiders could not freely access.
His decision not to attend means Braun won’t face the person who started the ball rolling in the company’s demise in court.
Because the witness lives outside Germany, the court cannot force him to appear. A spokesperson for the Munich court said the last-minute cancellation was incomprehensible.
