Wirecard

Wirecard AG
Company typeAktiengesellschaft
IndustryFinancial services
Payment processor
Technology
GenreFinancial
PredecessorInfoGenie AG
(until 6 April 2005)
Founded1 January 1999; 25 years ago (1999-01-01)
DefunctJune 2020
FateInsolvent after accounting scandal
HeadquartersAschheim, Bavaria, Germany
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Thomas Eichelmann
(chairman of the supervisory board)
ProductsElectronic payment processing
Banking
Card issuance
Mobile payment
Risk management
RevenueIncrease €2.02 billion (under question)[1]
(US$2.31 billion) (2018[2])
Increase €347.4 million (under question)[1]
(US$397.7 million) (2018[2])
Total assetsIncrease €5.855 billion (under question)[1]
(US$6.697 billion) (2018[2])
Number of employees
5,300 (Jun 2019[3])
Websitewww.wirecard.com

Wirecard AG is an insolvent[4] German payment processor and financial services provider whose former CEO, COO, two board members, and other executives have been arrested or otherwise implicated in criminal proceedings.[5] In June 2020, the company announced that €1.9 billion in cash was missing. It owed €3.2 billion in debt. In November 2020, the company was dismantled after it sold the assets of its main business unit to Santander Group for €100 million. Other assets, including its North American, UK and Brazilian units had been previously sold at nondisclosed prices.[6] The company offered electronic payment transaction services and risk management, and issued and processed physical and virtual cards. As of 2017, the company was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and was a part of the DAX stock index from September 2018 to August 2020.

The company is at the center of an international financial scandal. Allegations of accounting malpractices had trailed the company since the early days of its incorporation, reaching a peak in 2019 after the Financial Times published a series of investigations along with whistleblower complaints and internal documents. On 25 June 2020, Wirecard filed for insolvency following revelations that an amount of €1.9 billion was "missing".[7][8] Long-time CEO Markus Braun subsequently resigned and was later arrested. Former COO Jan Marsalek disappeared, after being fired from his position and board seat, and remains a fugitive wanted by the German police. He has been on Europe's Most Wanted list since 2020.[9]

On 25 August 2020, the court-appointed insolvency administrator issued a statement that "under the preliminary insolvency administration, it has since been possible to stabilize the ongoing business and create a basis for its continuation." The statement mentioned how "far-reaching cuts are therefore necessary in order to make any kind of continuation possible" and announced the impending layoff of around 730 employees, in addition to all members of the management board.[10]

In March 2022, Munich public prosecutors charged former CEO, Markus Braun, with fraud, breach of trust and accounting manipulation. If found guilty on all these charges, he could face up to 15 years in prison.[11] Braun was held in the Stadelheim prison as a pre-trial custody until the trial began.[12]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference FT0622 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). Bloomberg. 31 December 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Interim Report" (PDF). Wirecard. 15 August 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  4. ^ Storbeck, Olaf (1 July 2020). "Wirecard administrator starts to dismantle defunct payments group". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Germany: Wirecard ex-CEO back in custody, board members arrested on fraud charges". Deutsche Welle. 22 July 2020. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  6. ^ Storbeck, Olaf; Dombey, Daniel (16 November 2020). "Santander buys Wirecard's core European business for €100m". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Wirecard: Scandal-hit firm files for insolvency". BBC News. 25 June 2020. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Germany's beleaguered Wirecard to proceed with business after insolvency". Reuters. 28 June 2020. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  9. ^ "MARSALEK, Jan". Europe's most wanted (in Croatian). Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  10. ^ Jaffé, Michael (25 August 2020). "Opening of insolvency proceedings concerning assets of Wirecard AG". Rechtsanwalt Dr. Michael Jaffé. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  11. ^ Storbeck, Olaf (14 March 2022). "Former Wirecard chief executive charged with fraud". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Wirecard trial of executives opens in German fraud scandal". BBC News. 8 December 2022. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2022.