Wirecard

Why don’t auditors find fraud?

Regulators have put forward a series of proposals to clarify and extend responsibilities to spot wrongdoing and investors say they are willing to pay

Tue May 07 2024 - 05:00

Wirecard shareholders sue EY over alleged asset stripping in Germany

Lawyers for investors in collapsed payments group claim Big Four firm’s reorganisation made it harder to enforce claims

Mon Apr 08 2024 - 06:49

Vanished Wirecard executive thought to be living as Orthodox priest in Russia

Investigation by Germany’s Spiegel, Austria’s Standard and two other media outlets claims Jan Marsalek was helped escape by an erotic actress turned spy

Mon Mar 04 2024 - 05:45

Short seller Jim Chanos should be viewed by investors as a hero, not a zero

Chanos famously exposed the Enron scandal in 2001. He warned the G7 in May 2007 that a global financial crisis was coming

Tue Nov 28 2023 - 05:00

Letter from fugitive Wirecard executive sparks court clash

Former chief operating officer Jan Marsalek vanished after audit revealed €1.9bn hole in cash reserves

Wed Jul 19 2023 - 17:08

Singapore hands down first Wirecard criminal convictions

Two former executives given jail sentences related to collapse of once high-flying German payments group

Tue Jun 20 2023 - 12:28

EY chief executive to retire after failure of split plan

Work on doomed Everest project cost more than $600mn and triggered bitter infighting

Tue Jun 13 2023 - 19:44

Former auditors of Wirecard’s Irish unit fined and reprimanded

Sanctions come less than a month after wider Widercard group’s one-time auditors were fined by German authorities

Thu Apr 27 2023 - 11:08

German audit watchdog bans EY over Wirecard work

Big Four firm blocked from taking on listed companies as new clients for two years

Mon Apr 03 2023 - 11:33

Markus Braun’s stonewall testimony tests judge’s patience

Former Wirecard CEO maintains he has no responsibility for one of Europe’s biggest corporate frauds

Tue Mar 21 2023 - 16:38

Braun tells German court he had ‘no knowledge’ of fraud that resulted in Wirecard’s collapse

Former Wirecard chief executive in on trial in Munich along with two managers who worked at the online payments company

Mon Feb 13 2023 - 18:49

EY came close to uncovering Wirecard fraud in 2016

Collapsed payments firm’s trustee accidentally told auditor that he did not hold any money on its behalf

Mon Jan 30 2023 - 08:46

Lawyer of former Wirecard chief Markus Braun seeks suspension of trial

Prosecutors accused of ignoring crucial evidence and relying on witness who told ‘pack of lies’

Mon Dec 12 2022 - 20:35

Wirecard’s former CEO Markus Braun appears in court for historic trial

Executive denies any knowledge of or involvement in a €1.9 billion accounting fraud that brought down the electronic payments firm

Thu Dec 08 2022 - 19:33

Germany braces as Wirecard boss Markus Braun goes on trial in Munich

Collapse of fintech amid allegations of fraud is major embarrassment for German banking regulator and politicians

Wed Dec 07 2022 - 05:00

Germany charges former Wirecard chief with fraud and false accounting

High-profile firm collapsed last year amid allegations revenue and assets were faked

Mon Mar 14 2022 - 16:59

KPMG and Deloitte ‘corporate undertakers’ make their move as Irish businesses face triple threat

Joe Brennan: Might upcoming wave of troubled companies be handled differently to the post-crash victims?

Fri Feb 11 2022 - 15:07

German regulator fines Deutsche Bank €8.66m for Euribor controls

Fine is setback for Germany’s largest lender as it seeks to restore its reputation

Wed Dec 29 2021 - 11:39

Liquidators of Wirecard’s Irish arm focus fraud investigation on four key areas

Liquidators have completed two reports on Dublin firm’s collapse

Mon Nov 29 2021 - 06:37

Germany’s SPD accuses rival CDU of dirty tricks following raids on ministries

Olaf Scholz reacts to searches targeting party ministries two weeks before election

Fri Sept 10 2021 - 20:40

EY to spend €1.6bn on improving audit quality after scandals

Funding part of €8bn plan including training and fraud detection initiatives

Thu Sept 09 2021 - 16:27

Deutsche Telekom ups bet on US market with SoftBank deal

Deal will also see Japanese group take stake in German telecoms operator

Tue Sept 07 2021 - 11:29

Leading German asset manager takes Wirecard administrator to court

Lawsuit over losses to be watched closely by many including group’s former shareholders

Sun Aug 15 2021 - 15:42

Wirecard fraud started in 2010, former executive says

Oliver Bellenhaus tells German prosecutors he set up shell firms at Jan Marsalek’s behest

Tue Mar 23 2021 - 15:25

Irish investors in German ‘pyramid scheme’ have little hope

Over 20,000 investors in total committed savings into Charles Smethurst’s GPG

Fri Mar 19 2021 - 05:25

Stocktake: Short sellers are not the enemy

Shorts ‘play important role in detecting not just overpricing, but also fraud’ – study

Tue Feb 09 2021 - 05:40

Commerzbank fires its former Wirecard analyst

Heike Pauls had briefed managers at payment group about hedge fund’s criticism

Tue Feb 02 2021 - 21:00

Stocktake: Nothing noble about GameStop short squeeze

Despite the David v Goliath portrayal, Redditors’ moral outrage is misplaced

Tue Feb 02 2021 - 05:40

Could do better: the need for tougher board reviews

Glowing assessments adorned last annual reports of Wirecard and Carillion before they imploded

Fri Jan 29 2021 - 05:20

Fitch invests in AI start-up to better detect bank misconduct

Credit rating agency to expand how it evaluates lenders’ riskiness amid raft of scandals

Mon Jan 18 2021 - 13:35

Michael McAteer: ‘I just can’t believe that nothing can be saved’

Grant Thornton managing partner is optimistic about life after Covid

Fri Jan 08 2021 - 16:30

EY fraud unit found ‘red-flag indicators’ at Wirecard in 2018

Audit partners signed off accounts despite warnings from colleagues

Mon Dec 14 2020 - 12:19

Deutsche Bank executive steps aside over Wirecard allegations

Former EY partner Andreas Loetscher moves as prosecutors examine audits

Wed Dec 09 2020 - 15:41

Wirecard: Gardaí investigate alleged €400m fraud at Irish arm

Garda bureau investigating whether escrow account ever actually existed

Tue Dec 01 2020 - 05:23

Alleged €400m fraud leaves Wirecard’s Irish firm unable to pay debts

Liquidators appointed as gardaí investigate whether escrow account actually existed

Mon Nov 30 2020 - 11:46

Deutsche Bank’s head of accounting under investigation over Wirecard

Andreas Loetscher was one of EY partners responsible for audits at failed payments group

Fri Nov 27 2020 - 15:29

German watchdog reports EY to prosecutors over Wirecard audit

Move significantly escalates legal and reputational risks for accounting firm

Thu Nov 26 2020 - 20:01

Downing Street drama shows ‘weakness’ of Boris Johnson, former FT editor says

Prime minister ‘not a natural leader’, says Lionel Barber, as Cummings and Cain exit

Sat Nov 14 2020 - 05:01

Missing Wirecard executive could be Austrian spy, prosecutors say

Jan Marsalek disappaeared the day he was fired as details of €3bn fraud emerged

Fri Oct 30 2020 - 17:43

More flights cut, global FDI falls, number in ‘jobless households’ increases

Business Today: the best news, analysis and comment from The Irish Times business desk

Thu Oct 29 2020 - 06:49

Liquidators appointed to Irish arm of Wirecard

Electronic payments provider is subject to investigation in Germany over alleged fraud

Wed Oct 28 2020 - 19:10

Firms run by ‘demanding from top down’ more likely to fail, says ex-Wirecard CEO

Former US official who took over at e-payments giant urges businesses to be open

Wed Oct 14 2020 - 15:39

Whistleblower warned EY of Wirecard fraud four years before collapse

Employee at payments group’s longtime auditor flagged suspicious accounting and attempted bribery in 2016

Tue Sept 29 2020 - 18:57

German parliament to open full inquiry into Wirecard collapse

MPs want to know when government first knew about irregularities at payments firm

Tue Sept 01 2020 - 20:25

Call for taxi regulator to investigate Free Now driver payment delays

Government TD asks Minister to direct National Transport Authority to get involved

Tue Aug 18 2020 - 05:13

Taxi app Free Now misses Irish driver payment deadline for fourth time

App promised drivers unpaid fares would be processed ‘over the weekend’

Mon Aug 17 2020 - 17:24

Wirecard was looted before collapse, German prosecutors suspect

Some $1bn thought to have been funnelled out of scandal-hit payments group

Fri Aug 07 2020 - 15:06

Travel stocks drag Europe lower after UK’s quarantine move on Spain

Markets report: European travel and leisure index sinks to two-month low

Mon Jul 27 2020 - 18:59

Auditors face biggest test since financial crash as Covid-19 and Wirecard rattle

Implosion of Germany’s Wirecard may prompt another attempt at audit reforms, experts say

Fri Jul 24 2020 - 05:30

Former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun rearrested and accused of long-running fraud

Executive detained weeks after collapse of once high-flying German technology group

Wed Jul 22 2020 - 18:05

Short selling is not for those seeking a stress-free life

Stocktake: Shorts had to pay high interest fees in order to bet against Wirecard

Tue Jul 21 2020 - 05:40

McKinsey warned Wirecard a year ago to take ‘immediate action’ on controls

Management board later passed over consultancy for compliance work in favour of PwC

Tue Jul 14 2020 - 11:20

Gardaí raid Irish office of failed German payments group Wirecard

Irish offices were raided as part of an international fraud investigation

Thu Jul 09 2020 - 14:12

Big Four told to outline plans for audit split in UK by October

Shake-up comes after audit concern in serie sof high profiel corporate collapses

Mon Jul 06 2020 - 09:53

Wirecard

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