Wirecard raided by prosecutors over missing 1.9b euros

[BERLIN] Wirecard's offices in Germany and two locations in Austria were raided by Munich prosecutors looking into the 1.90 billion euros (S$2.98 billion) that went missing from the fintech company's accounts.

Twelve prosecutors and 33 police officers are conducting the searches, a spokesperson for the Munich authority said Wednesday. The action is part of the probe that led to the arrest of former chief executive officer Markus Braun last week.

Wirecard filed for protection from creditors after investigations revealed that 1.90 billion euros previously reported as cash was missing from its accounts and probably never existed. On Monday, a Munich court appointed Michael Jaffe as its preliminary insolvency administrator.

Mr Braun turned himself in on June 22 in Munich as part of a probe into the company's accounting practices, prosecutors said. A day later, he was granted bail of 5 million euros and released from custody. He's being investigated for forging accounts and market manipulation allegations.

BLOOMBERG