Wirecard and Merkel's office had regular contact before collapse

[FRANKFURT] Wirecard had repeated contact with Angela Merkel's chancellery in the months before its collapse, according to a chronology of events by her office.

Dr Merkel has come under pressure to clarify her interactions with the digital payments company after the chancellery confirmed that the German leader promoted Wirecard during a trip to China in September 2019 after her office was informed of ongoing investigations.

Opposition lawmakers are threatening to call for a parliamentary investigation as they press Dr Merkel's administration over how it pursued fraud allegations against Wirecard, a member of Germany's benchmark Dax index.

Underscoring the impact of the scandal, the finance committee in Germany's lower house of parliament plans to interrupt the summer recess to hold a special session on July 29 to discuss the firm's collapse. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Economy Minister Peter Altmaier have been invited.

Munich prosecutors on Wednesday scheduled an ad hoc press conference to inform about the "latest developments" in their Wirecard probe. The investigators declined to say beforehand what the announcement will be.

BLOOMBERG

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL