On Monday Braun gave testimony in the trial, which has already been running for two months and is expected to last for more than a year.

Along with two other executives, he faces charges of fraud, misappropriation of corporate assets, accounting fraud and market manipulation. If found guilty, they face up to 15 years in prison.

Wirecard was a rising blue chip star before its collapse in 2020 following the discovery of a gaping €1.9 billion hole in its balance sheet.

Braun told the court of his "deepest regret" over the company’s failure but insisted: "I had no knowledge of counterfeiting or embezzlement."

Braun has been in custody for more than two years following his after the former head of Wirecard’s Dubai unit, Oliver Bellenhaus, came clean to prosecutors about his role in the collapse of the company.

In testimony, Bellenhaus has said that Braun told him to make retrospective changes to internal accounting data and to fabricate client data.