Prosecutors suspect Wirecard of siphoning funds before bankruptcy

The German public prosecutor’s office suspects that the fintech company Wirecard was looted before its collapse in June, according to the Financial Times.

According to the publication, the card issuer extended unsecured loans totaling around $1 billion to partners in Dubai, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Wirecard said the payments were advance payments to merchants processing card transactions through partners in Asia.

Former CEO Markus Braun, arrested on suspicion of fraud, denied the alleged wrongdoing.

Wirecard filed for bankruptcy after auditor Ernst & Young (EY) could not confirm €1.9 billion ($2.1 billion) on the company’s books.

Among Wirecard’s clients were cryptocurrency companies, including Crypto.com, TenX and CryptoPay. According to their statements, user funds were not affected by the events surrounding the German firm.

Earlier reports indicated that former chief operating officer Jan Marsalek is hiding in Russia and holds a substantial amount of bitcoin.

Subscribe to ForkLog news on Telegram: ForkLog Feed — full news feed, ForkLog — the most important news and polls.