{"id":40703,"date":"2026-03-31T17:41:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=40703"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:41:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:41:35","slug":"singapore-extradites-ex-wirecard-asia-director-to-germany-in-global-fraud-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=40703","title":{"rendered":"Singapore extradites ex-Wirecard Asia director to Germany in global fraud probe"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE \u2013 A former director of Wirecard Asia was extradited to Germany on March 30, following her arrest in Singapore in November 2025 as part of a global operation that netted more than a dozen<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/a>suspects <\/span><\/a>linked to fraud syndicates. <\/p>\n

Brigitte Hauser-Axtner, 49, was arrested on Nov 4, 2025,<\/span><\/a> by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) during the worldwide operation targeting alleged fraud and money laundering networks that exploited German payment service providers.<\/p>\n

The German national was wanted in her home country for alleged criminal organisation, computer fraud and money laundering offences linked to the Wirecard Group, said the SPF in a statement on March 31.<\/p>\n

Singapore received a request by Germany to arrest the woman on Oct 24, 2025. With a warrant granted by the Singapore courts on Nov 3, 2025, the police made the arrest the following day. <\/p>\n

At the time of her arrest, she was an employment pass holder, but working for an unrelated company, the police added. She was held in custody without bail as the Singapore authorities waited for their German counterparts to submit a formal request for extradition.<\/p>\n

Singapore has a bilateral extradition treaty with Germany that requires both countries to agree to the reciprocal handing over of fugitives in \u201cthe interest of law and order\u201d. The two countries must also find such an arrangement mutually beneficial, according to a Singapore parliamentary reply in 2016.<\/p>\n

On Dec 24, 2025, the Republic received a formal request from Germany to extradite Hauser-Axtner, and on Feb 10, she consented to being sent back. While waiting for her extradition, she was in custody in prison, the SPF said.<\/p>\n

Wirecard was one of four payment service providers that were used to process and launder transactions for criminal networks. <\/p>\n

Although the European Union\u2019s law enforcement arm Europol did not name any of the four providers, German investigative news outlet Der Spiegel identified Wirecard as one of them.<\/p>\n

The German fintech and digital payments firm was embroiled in legal trouble after\u00a0filing for bankruptcy in June 2020<\/span><\/a>, when it disclosed that \u20ac1.9 billion (S$2.81 billion) in cash, supposed to be held in the Philippines, did not exist.<\/p>\n

A total of 18 people were arrested, accused of stealing credit card information, setting up fake accounts, authorising and concealing payments, and laundering money.<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Federal Criminal Police Office and prosecutors said that between 2016 and 2021, the suspects used credit card details of more than 4.3 million individuals from 193 countries\u00a0in their scheme.<\/p>\n

According to Europol, more than\u00a0\u20ac300 million was lost to the fraudsters.<\/p>\n

The suspects stole funds through subscriptions to fake websites designed for streaming, dating and entertainment, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n

Each subscription was kept at about \u20ac50 and had vague descriptions, which made it difficult for cardholders to identify the charges as unauthorised transactions.<\/p>\n

Europol added that six suspects, including executives and compliance officers, are accused of colluding with the criminal networks by allowing them to access payment infrastructure in exchange for payments.<\/p>\n

Shell companies, primarily in Britain and Cyprus, were also used to enable the fraudulent transactions while keeping the risk of chargebacks and detection low.<\/p>\n

Ten countries were involved in the law enforcement operation, including Singapore, Germany, the United States, Canada and Cyprus. <\/p>\n

Five people were arrested in the US, while another two were arrested in Cyprus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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