Wirecard accepts that € 1.9 billion are not found
Monday, 22.06.2020
news-single-imgcaption" style="width:240px">Markus Braun has launched its start-up in 1999, which was initially used as an intermediary in on-line payments made for the porn industry, and online games. (Keystone)
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The fintech Wirecard has admitted on Monday that a sum of 1.9 billion euros (2 billion francs) registered in the balance sheet, but that the auditors had not been able to certify “is very probably not”, feeding the suspicions of fraud that led to the resignation of his boss.
The provider of payments, whose share price collapsed to three-quarters in two days on Thursday and Friday, has also withdrawn its provisional result 2019, issued in February, the result of the first quarter of 2020 and “may not exclude a review of the results of the previous years.”
Wirecard, joined the Dax in September 2018 and now to the heart of what should be one of the biggest recent financial scandals, also has withdrawn its profit forecast 2020 and its goal 2025 concerning the volume of transactions, the turnover and the operating result.
This announcement follows the resignation on Friday of the boss and founder Markus Braun, Wirecard, a young company in bavaria was founded in 1999 and which was initially used as an intermediary in on-line payments made for the porn industry, and online games.
The day before, It was deferred in extremis the presentation of the balance sheet 2019 complete and the auditors have refused to certify. The reason: it had been impossible to establish with certainty the existence of funds expected to be found on third-party accounts in the Philippines.
The two banks involved have denied any commercial connection with Wirecard and the central bank of the Philippines explained Sunday that “the missing funds are not entered in the financial system”.
“The management board assumes” that the description of the activities carried out through these third parties accounts “is not accurate” and “continues to verify if these operations have actually been carried out” for Wirecard, indicates the fintech in the news release Monday.
The group, which became in few years a global provider employing nearly 6000 employees and representative up here a “success story” of finance in German, is facing turbulence since the beginning of 2019, and a series of articles in the Financial Times alleging accounting irregularities in its operations in Asia.
Wirecard is now trying to establish a “sustainable financing strategy” and “is negotiating with its lending banks” which it may withdraw lines of credit. (awp)
>> Read also: the uncertain future of the fintech Wirecard
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