German federal auditors will look into whether the financial regulator BaFin ignored telltale signs of false accounting at scandal-hit firm Wirecard, the head of the audit authority told the Spiegel magazine in an interview out Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2020) German Federal auditors will look into whether the financial regulator BaFin ignored telltale signs of false accounting at scandal-hit firm Wirecard, the head of the audit authority told the Spiegel magazine in an interview out Thursday.
"We review the oversight system, its structure and risk management based on the Wirecard case... We will also look at the Finance Ministry's and BaFin's reaction to accusations of false balance reporting and auditors' reports," Kay Scheller said.
The blue-chip payments company saw its shares tumble in June after EY auditors could not find 1.9 billion Euros ($2.2 billion) on its balance sheet. The firm's former chief executive Markus Braun later admitted it did not exist. He was briefly arrested and freed on bail.
Separately, the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority has taken steps to monitor Wirecard's compliance with local financial regulations, according to the Sky news channel.
The FCA has hired accountants from the global accounting network BDO to make sure that the firm had enough funds in the country, after previously freezing payment cards of Wirecard's UK customers.
