(Reuters) – German payments company Wirecard AG
The video statement issued by Wirecard’s management board follows the company’s auditor refusing to sign off its 2019 accounts over a missing $2.1 billion. Its shares dropped by around 60% on Thursday as the company said the delay could cause billions in loans to be called in as soon as Friday.
Auditor EY was unable to confirm the existence of 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in cash balances on trust accounts, representing around a quarter of its balance sheet, Wirecard said on Thursday.
“At present it cannot be ruled out that Wirecard AG has become the aggrieved party in a case of fraud of considerable proportions,” Wirecard Chief Executive Markus Braun said in the video statement released on Friday https://bit.ly/3edfOuk.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue)