Markus Braun, the former CEO of Wirecard AG, said German politicians and financial regulators were not to blame for the collapse of the payments group he founded and the accounting scandal surrounding it, the Financial Times reported Nov. 20.

In his testimony before Parliament, Braun said authorities had not been in breach of their duties in the lead-up to the company's collapse in June after it disclosed that €1.9 billion of balances in trust accounts could not be located by its auditor. Braun was arrested on suspicion that he had inflated the company's balance sheets to become more attractive.

Germany launched a parliamentary inquiry into the scandal, placing financial regulator BaFin under scrutiny. Braun told lawmakers that he "can't understand why external regulators should be held responsible for failures," the newspaper wrote.

Braun also said Wirecard's auditor, EY, was "apparently comprehensively deceived" as it failed to detect irregularities in the company's books despite thorough checks, the FT added.

Aside from giving his testimony, Braun refused to answer any questions from lawmakers, invoking his right to remain silent. However, he did emphasize that he was willing to cooperate with the proceedings, according to the report.