In the German financial supervisors Wirecard issued since the beginning of 2019 a concrete suspicion of balance sheet manipulation at the now-bankrupt scandal the group. However, according to information of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper accusations against the in the German stock index DAX PSPs was with the elaborate and complex examination of fraud in the past 16 months, Essentially only a single employee is responsible – although the case moved during this time, more and more circles.
Marcus Theurer
editor in the economy of the Frankfurt General Sunday newspaper.
F. A. Z.
as A result of the special audit by the financial supervision is not available until today. Private companies for audit, not a set in similar complex cases in large companies rarely dozens of accounting professionals. The financial Supervisory authority, Bafin saw in February 2019 in the framework of the supervision of securities on the occasion, the already, serious accounting fraud allegations against Wirecard pursue. However, according to the law you have have to deal with this investigation, the German financial reporting enforcement panel (frep) entrust, is it.
The “balance police” designated verifier, however, has only a few staff and was, therefore, only an employee for the Wirecard investigation. The questionable division of responsibilities between Bafin and the frep stand in the center of harsh criticism from the EU Commission to Germany, in the case of Wirecard, said. The EU is now the Act of the German financial supervisors in the reporting scandal of the European securities and markets authority ESMA check.
Bafin and the frep confirmed that the special audit of the Wirecard accounting had been initiated in February 2019, called but no further details. Wirecard has filed this week for bankruptcy, after the company had to admit to that shown in the balance sheet cash of 1.9 billion euros, which were allegedly to Asian Bank accounts, were to be found. Bafin chief Felix Hufeld, described the events as a “disgrace” for Germany. Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) has announced that, as a consequence of the accounting scandal, a Reform of the German financial supervision.
