Crypto Card Issuer Wirecard Missing $2.1 Billion Cash, Company Shares Plunge 62%
About 1.9 billion euros ($2.13 billion) worth of cash is missing from one of Wirecard’s trust accounts and the crypto debit card provider cannot as yet account for the money, the company reported on Thursday.
In a statement, the major German payment processor blamed “spurious” cash balances provided by a third party with the aim of deceiving the auditor, Ernst and Young, which discovered the scandal during a routine audit.
“There are indications that spurious balance confirmations had been provided from the side of the trustee … in order to deceive the auditor and create a wrong perception of the existence of such cash balances or the holding of the accounts for to the benefit of Wirecard group companies,” said the firm.
Wirecard, which issues cards that support crypto payments to platforms such as Crypto.com and Wirex, said it is investigating the matter in close cooperation with the auditor. The amount missing equals 25% of the funds on the company’s balance sheet.
As a result of the issue, Wirecard has now delayed publishing its annual report and financial statements for 2019, initially scheduled for Aug. 4. “If certified annual and consolidated financial statements cannot be made available until June 19, 2020, loans made to Wirecard AG amounting to approximately EUR 2 billion can be terminated,” it said.
Shares of Wirecard fell as much as 62% or 65 euros to 40 euros in Frankfurt trading on Thursday after news of the missing billions broke out. In the last 52 weeks, the stock price has reached a high of 159 euros and a low of 30 euros.
What do you think about Wirecard’s missing billions? Let us know in the comments section below.Here’s How to Order Food From Your Home Using CryptocurrencySERVICES | Mar 26, 202010 Loan Providers Taking Crypto as Collateral, If You Think the Time Is Right for HodlingSERVICES | Mar 21, 2020Tags in this storyaudit, Crypto.com, Ernst and Young, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Missing Billions, Trust accounts, Wirecard AG
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