Wirecard collapses

2020NotableContested

German payments firm Wirecard admits that €1.9 billion supposedly held in Asian trust accounts probably does not exist and files for insolvency. It exposes failures by auditors and Germany's regulator.

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Contested history

Consensus: The €1.9 billion never existed; Wirecard had inflated much of its Asian business, while Germany's regulator had pursued critics instead of the company.

The missing cash never existedEstablished

Wirecard said so itself in June 2020 after auditor EY could not confirm the funds.

Financial Times reporting was a short-seller attackDebunked

Germany's BaFin filed a complaint against FT journalists in 2019, but the collapse vindicated their reporting.

A fugitive former executive worked with Russian intelligenceDebated

UK prosecutors in a 2025 espionage trial said he directed a spy cell for Russia; he has fled and has not been tried.