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Germany’s finance ministry has been accused of trying to secretly interfere with the testimony of a key witness in a Wirecard parliamentary inquiry, which may have violated legal rules.
The collapse of a company that had already paid in Germany last summer sent a shocking repercussion through the German economy and politics. Dangerous parliamentary investigations have uncovered a number of legal shortcomings and led to the resignation of the leaders of the three governing bodies.
A few days before the final parliamentary hearing on the committee’s final report, the finance ministry revealed that one of its officials had tried to intervene in the inquiry by concluding an interview with Munich attorney general Hildegard Bäumler-Hösl, a senior witness.
The government revealed this in response to a question from Fabio De Masi, a left-wing candidate for Die Linke, which was seen by the Financial Times.
The minister was not named, but could be identified by a description of his role, such as that of Reinhard Wolpers, a small-scale leader in the financial market. Wolpers is one of three people working in the finance ministry who are members of the BaFin governing body. The finance ministry declined to comment on him.
During a Bäumler-Hösl interrogation in January, Wolpers approached BaFin’s vice president, Elisabeth Roegele, and asked her to ask questions to Bäumler-Hösl who would present them to the MPs.
The government has no legal role in this inquiry, which is followed by parliament and has the same powers as a court. In addition, Roegele was re-appointed as a witness and had not yet been consulted by counsel at the time. He was forced to resign by the government along with President Felix Hufeld at the end of January.
“Wolpers’ behavior is illegal,” De Masi told the Financial Times, adding that a government official was showing “disrespect for the Bundestag”.
Defendants BaFin and Munich are at risk in a lawsuit against a temporary ban on liquidation in 2019 that investors see as a confidence in the shameless company. BaFin imposed the ban after receiving information from protesters in Munich about a temporary sale against Wirecard.
Several employees at BaFin told lawmakers that protesters in Munich had said this was unreliable. Bäumler-Hösl denied the allegations and said he had just forwarded it to BaFin without mentioning his conviction.
The temporary ban on the sale is toxic to Germany’s finance minister Olaf Scholz, who is being elected by the Social Democrats as chancellor in the federal election in September.
The finance ministry criticized public officials for banning temporary sales, saying it was based on poor and inaccurate analysis.
De Masi’s ministry response revealed that Wolpers had approached Roegele via email and text message just days before Bäumler-Hösl testified. The ministry said the Wolpers simply “did their job, not in collaboration with other finance ministers”. It further states that officers “did not take any action” were informed of the incident but only became aware of the matter as a result of De Masi’s inquiries.
“Communication in [our] Roegele’s staff member did not receive any results, as Roegele did not submit any comments, “the ministry said, adding that” no information “had been provided to members of the investigative committee from the ministry.
Lisa Paus, MP for Green, said the “finance ministry” was abused in the politics of the Social Democrats. “There is no absolute.”
Florian Toncar, a candidate for the Free Democrats pro-business organization, said it would be “very strange” if Wolpers’ actions “were not approved or requested by the ministry’s officials”.
Jens Zimmermann, the SPD’s chief executive officer, said he could not comment on internal affairs “because I had no information. [into them]”, Adding that his only contact was with representatives of the ministerial office in the committee. “I have not received any comments on Ms Bäumler-Hösl’s inquiries,” Zimmermann said.
Wolpers and Roegele did not respond to FT’s request for comment. Opponents in Munich declined to comment.
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