Fall of German payments giant

Former Wirecard chief executive Markus Braun and several other top executives have been arrested on fraud charges. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Wirecard filed for insolvency in June last year after disclosing that €1.9 billion (S$3 billion) in cash, supposed to be in bank accounts in the Philippines, did not exist.

Then chief executive Markus Braun resigned over the scandal, which sent the shares of the German payments giant crashing.

He and several other top executives have been arrested on fraud charges.

German prosecutors also launched a probe into Ernst & Young's audit of Wirecard in December last year, after an accounting watchdog report accused the audit giant of criminality in its work for the failed payments company.

Wirecard's Asia-Pacific headquarters is in Pasir Panjang.

The Commercial Affairs Department, which deals with white-collar crime, began investigations into Wirecard's Singapore operations in February 2019 after Financial Times reports raised allegations of fraud at its office here.

Wirecard entities in Singapore had to cease their payment services and return all customers' funds by Oct 14 last year following a directive from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

At its peak, Wirecard Singapore employed more than 350 people. It told The Straits Times in October last year that it had 250 staff - including 180 locals.

It reportedly lost a third of its staff by December, two months after it ceased its core business activities here.

Meanwhile, Finch Capital-backed payments firm Nomu Pay said last month that it will acquire Wirecard's Asia-Pacific entities in Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand for an undisclosed sum.

Prisca Ang

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 31, 2021, with the headline Fall of German payments giant. Subscribe