GERMANY 2.1 BILLION DOLLARS FRAUD OF WIRECARD SCANDAL

The Wirecard scandal was a major financial scandal that erupted in Germany in 2020 involving the payments company Wirecard. The scandal involved allegations of accounting fraud, market manipulation, and money laundering, and led to the company filing for insolvency.

The scandal began in January 2019 when the Financial Times published a series of articles accusing Wirecard of accounting irregularities and fraud. Wirecard denied the allegations and launched legal action against the newspaper.

The situation escalated in June 2020 when Wirecard announced that €1.9 billion was missing from its accounts. The company initially claimed that the funds were held in trust accounts in the Philippines, but the accounts turned out to be non-existent.

Wirecard subsequently filed for insolvency, and its former CEO Markus Braun was arrested on charges of market manipulation and accounting fraud. Other senior executives were also arrested or placed under investigation.

The scale of the scandal was massive, with Wirecard's stock price plunging over 90% and causing huge losses for investors. The scandal also raised serious questions about the regulation of the financial industry in Germany and the effectiveness of oversight by financial authorities.

The Wirecard scandal is considered to be one of the biggest financial scandals in recent history, and has led to calls for greater transparency and accountability in the financial industry. It has also prompted a wider debate about the need for more robust regulations and oversight of the technology sector, which has become increasingly important in the global economy.