Wirecard files for insolvency after $2 billion went missing

The payments company found that 80% of its net cash didn't exist. Its former CEO has since been arrested and it has now filed for insolvency.

Jun 25, 2020

1 min read

Wirecard has filed for insolvency today. Image: Shutterstock.

Wirecard has filed for insolvency today due to the €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion) hole in its finances. It filed the application in Munich.

Wirecard CEO gets arrested — The former Wirecard CEO handed himself in to police. (Image: Shutterstock)

Wirecard is a German digital payments company, which operates several crypto debit cards. They include Crypto.com and TenX, which have stated that they are materially unaffected by Wirecard's lost funds.

On June 18, Wirecard announced that its auditor Ernst & Young had discovered a €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion) hole in its balance sheet—around 80% of its net cash, according to Bloomberg. The following day its CEO stepped down; after an arrest warrant was put out for him, he handed himself in to the police.

Former CEO Dr. Markus Braun is accused of lying to auditors about the missing money. Wirecard said that the money probably does “not exist”, and that it had misled investors about how it made its profits. It has since withdrawn its annual accounts and its stock prices have plummeted.

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