Germany plans Oct 8 full inquiry on Wirecard collapse

[BERLIN] Germany will hold a full parliamentary inquiry on Oct 8 into the stunning collapse of payments provider Wirecard, a fraud which has been described as "unparalleled".

"The biggest scandal in the history of post-war Germany must be clarified," said Fabio De Masi, deputy chief of the far-left Linke party.

Digital payments provider Wirecard, once a rising star in the booming fintech sector, collapsed spectacularly in June after the company was forced to admit to a 1.9-billion-euro (S$3.05 billion) hole in its balance sheet.

The company's former chief executive Markus Braun and several other top executives have since been arrested on fraud charges.

It was kicked out of Germany's blue-chip DAX index in August after its share price fell 99 per cent in the year to date.

The scandal is proving embarrassing for Chancellor Angela Merkel's right-left coalition in the lead-up to next year's general election.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is particularly under pressure as his ministry oversees the regulatory authority that has come under fire for missing the colossal fraud.

Mr Scholz and other members of Ms Merkel's cabinet had faced grilling behind closed doors over the case but MPs have pushed for the full inquiry as they have been unable to clear up the case.

In a bid to turn the page on the damaging saga, Mr Scholz has announced plans to toughen up oversight and auditing of the sector.

AFP