Wirecard has informed investors that an external law firm has been investigating alleged accounting manipulations by “a member of Wirecard’s finance team” in its Singapore operations since May 2018, with the probe still ongoing.
Wirecard fraud probe continues as group announces investigation
The company’s share price fell heavily last week after the Financial Times reported that a senior Wirecard executive in 2018 was suspected, in an internal presentation, of using forged and backdated contracts in a string of suspicious transactions that raise questions about the integrity of its accounting.
An external law firm, Rajah & Tann, commissioned by Wirecard to investigate the payment company’s Singapore office, found evidence indicating “serious offences of forgery and/or of falsification of accounts”, according to a preliminary report on the inquiry seen by the FT.
Singapore police announced in a statement that they were looking into “the matter” after the reports.
Shares in Wirecard rose following a statement by Wirecard which came after it last week called the FT reports “inaccurate, misleading and defamatory”. It told investors on Monday that one of its employees in Singapore in April 2018 raised concerns internally “about alleged actions of a member of Wirecard’s finance team in Singapore”.
According to the statement, “the allegations related to potential compliance breaches in the area of accounting for the period 2015-2018 totalling revenues of €6.9 million and costs of €4.1 million as well as an internal transfer of software intellectual property valued at €2.6 million”.
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