Inside the €24 Billion Startup That Never Existed

In this video, we unravel the shocking story of Wirecard – Europe’s most spectacular corporate fraud that saw a fintech startup rise to a $24 billion valuation before collapsing in a web of lies and deception. What began as Germany’s answer to Silicon Valley, with CEO Markus Brown styling himself as the next Steve Jobs, ended in a dramatic international manhunt and exposed the dark underbelly of startup culture.

We look at how Wirecard orchestrated an elaborate scheme of fake subsidiaries, fictitious profits, and nonexistent partnerships that fooled even Germany’s top financial regulators. Watch as we dissect how this “fintech success story” managed to surpass Deutsche Bank in market value while building an empire on fraudulent foundations, and follow the mysterious trail of COO Jan Marsalek’s theatrical escape to Belarus under alleged Russian intelligence protection.

Key takeaways include:
• How Wirecard manipulated its way to a $24 billion valuation through systematic deception and false reporting
• Why German regulator BaFin not only missed the fraud but actively pursued journalists trying to expose the truth
• The crucial warning signs that investors and regulators ignored, and how to spot them in the future

Host: Heini Zachariassen
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heini/

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#Fraud #Wirecard #fintech

Chapters
00:00 The Rise and Fall of Wirecard
03:12 The Illusion of Growth and Success
06:01 The Aftermath and Lessons Learned

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