Ex-Porsche CFO denies fraud allegations
Former Porsche CFO denies he purposely deceived BNP Paribas in loan negotiations, to acquire Volkswagen
FORMER PORSCHE CFO Holger Haerter has denied any wrongdoing over allegations he defrauded French bank BNP Paribas in loan negotiations.
In the first day of the trial in Stuttgart, where Porsche is based, Haerter said the “accusations are demonstrably false”, Reuters reports.
The prosecutors of the case claim Haerter, Porsche’s former chief executive Wendlein Wiedeking and another employee misled the bank on Porsche’s liquidity needs, as they negotiated refinancing for a failed take-over attempt of Volkswagen.
In 2009, Porsche needed to refinance €10bn (£7.9bn) loan facility to acquire VW, with the trio accused of underestimating Porsche’s liquidity needs by €1.4bn, The Financial Times reports.
Haerter told the court he was “stunned” and “it has never been my way to deceive business partners”.
If found guilty, the trio could each face up to three years in prison.