At present, the news are breaking as regards lawsuits that have already been initiated or are currently prepared. Which way is the right one, to „opt in“ in a class action or to file individual proceedings, depends on the circumstances of the individual case.
At present, the news are breaking as regards lawsuits that have already been initiated or are currently prepared. Which way is the right one, to „opt in“ in a class action or to file individual proceedings, depends on the circumstances of the individual case.
As of today, criminal investigation proceedings have been initiated against the members of the Management Board of Wirecard AG, among others. Investors have the opportunity to assert their civil law claims for damages in a so-called “adhesion procedure” as part of the criminal proceedings.
Advantage: The facts of the case are investigated by the public prosecutor’s office, which has better investigative possibilities.
Disadvantage: It is currently completely open when these investigations will be completed.
In addition, according to press reports, there are at least three class action lawsuits submitted:
- against Wirecard AG itself at the Regional Court Munich I
- against BaFin at the OLG Frankfurt (so-called KapMuG test case) and
- against the auditing firm EY (Ernst & Young) and the Chairman of the Management Board of Wirecard AG, Dr. Markus Braun (also KapMuG test case).
All proceedings entail considerable risks, both in terms of litigation and enforcement in the event of victory. For this reason, it may well make sense to join such model proceedings / class actions. Such model proceedings / class actions minimize the cost risk. Especially in the case of smaller damages and a smaller number of shares, this can therefore be reasonable.
In addition, litigation financiers offer the complete financing of the litigation above a certain threshold (e.g. EUR 25,000.-) in return for a share of the profits in the event of victory.
