Wirecard CEO resigns – $2 billion go missing

The fintech firm’s share price nosedived by 80% over two days

Wirecard AG announced that the company’s CEO Markus Braun has stepped down as a member of the management board with immediate effect. Markus Braun’s resignation came amid an accounting scandal that has rocked the company’s share price.

His resignation came just a day after Wirecard announced that its auditor EY was unable to find evidence for 1.9 billion to 2 billion euros worth of cash balances on its trust accounts.

The company has now appointed James H. Freis as interim CEO on the company’s management board just yesterday.

Wirecard AG is a German payment processor and financial services provider which is listed on the German stock exchange and is headquartered in Aschheim, district of Munich.

“Spurious” balances may have been provided by a third party “in order to deceive the auditor” Wirecard said. Wirecard AG postponed its 2019 annual financial statements for the fourth time this year as a result of this.

Shares of the firm have collapsed in recent days. Yesterday, Wirecard stock plummeted more than 60%, while today it began the trading session down more than 40%.

Wirecard AG also suspended the member of the Management Board Jan Marsalek on a revocable basis.

Braun, before his resignation said that he didn’t know why the banks were denying having the money and that it “cannot be ruled out” that Wirecard was itself the victim of “considerable” fraud.

Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin, is running three simultaneous investigations into Wirecard.

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