Auditors Ernst & Young have found no evidence of €2.14bn on Wirecard’s balance sheets, as the payments processor suggests a third party may have t

Wirecard shares plunge after $2.14bn goes missing

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Super Jumper

2020-06-18 12:24:13

Auditors Ernst & Young have found no evidence of €2.14bn on Wirecard’s balance sheets, as the payments processor suggests a third party may have tried to “deceive” the company

Shares of Wirecard plunged 66 percent on June 18, as the German payments company revealed it was missing €1.9bn ($2.14bn) in revenue for 2019. Auditors at Ernst & Young informed Wirecard that they had not found sufficient evidence to confirm the existence of the ($2.14bn) €1.9bn, which represents around a quarter of Wirecard’s balance sheet.

In a statement, Wirecard said that “spurious balance confirmations” may have been provided by a third party, with the intention to “to deceive the auditor and create a wrong perception of the existence of such cash balances”. The company added that, if accounts are not made available by June 19, €2bn ($2.25bn) of loans made to Wirecard could be terminated.

Softbank’s investment was an important vote of confidence for Wirecard, which has long been plagued by accusations of fraudulent accounting practices