Wirecard under criminal scrutiny by U.S. authorities: WSJ

(Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department is examining whether German payment company Wirecard AG played a critical role in an alleged $100 million bank-fraud conspiracy connected to an online marijuana marketplace, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Two businessmen have already been charged in the alleged fraud, accused of conspiring with third-party payment processors and others to trick U.S. banks into approving credit-card payments for marijuana products, the report said, citing people familiar with the investigation. (https://on.wsj.com/38FTl6V)

A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment “at this time,” while Wirecard did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Shanti S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)