[00:02] This German company was worth more than Deutsche Bank.  And then it turned out that the 2 billion euros in her accounts did not exist, and the wildest thing was that they never existed. This is Ward's story.  It was the pride of Germany.  Fentech star who
[00:18] Germany.  Fentech star who processed payments all over the world.  In 2018, it was included in the DAX, the country's main index, and for this, the country's main index, and for this, the old, venerable Commerbank was thrown out.  Imagine a
[00:32] newcomer throwing a century-old bank out of the major league .  Founder Marcus Braun wears a black turtleneck, mimics Steve Jobs, and investors
[00:44] literally worship him.  Stocks are soaring. But there is one problem. Financial Time journalists have been saying for years that there's something wrong with the numbers .  Profits seem to be drawn out of thin air, especially in shady deals
[00:59] somewhere in Asia.  And do you know what German regulators do?  They don't check Wcard, they open a case against the journalists themselves and temporarily ban betting
[01:11] against the company's shares.  That is, the state protects fraudsters from those who try to expose them.  Think about it.  2020 year.  The auditors finally say: "Okay, just prove that the money really exists. 1.5 billion euros are allegedly
[01:28] sitting in accounts in the Philippines."  They go to check, and the Philippine banks respond: "This is the first time we've heard about these accounts. There's no money, there never was any."  For years, the company simply drew half of its business in
[01:42] drew half of its business in Excel spreadsheets.  In just a few days, WCAR is collapsing.  This is the first bankruptcy in the history of the company with DAX.  But the best is yet to come .  The founder is arrested.  And the second person in the company, Jan Marsalik,
[01:56] the one who apparently ran the whole scheme, simply disappears, boards a private jet and vanishes into thin air.  And then a detail emerges.  Apparently, he worked for Russian intelligence for years.   A real spy at the center of
[02:12] Europe's biggest financial scam.  Billions have evaporated.  The company is dead, and the man who knows the whole truth is still on the run.