Wirecard
Payments / Fintech · Collapsed Jun 2020
Case Summary
Wirecard was a DAX 30 payments company that fabricated €1.9B in revenue. Despite years of investigative journalism by the Financial Times and short-seller reports, the company maintained its position until KPMG’s special audit could not verify trust account balances.
Peak Signal Scores
Company Filings
10News & Events
9Sentiment
7Funding
5Workforce
4Market Position
4Signal Timeline
FT begins investigative series on Wirecard accounting practices.
Internal compliance report flags Asian subsidiary irregularities.
FT publishes detailed evidence of potential fraud in Singapore operations.
KPMG commissioned for special audit.
Short sellers publicly cite fraud indicators. Company attacks critics.
KPMG reports €1B in trust accounts cannot be verified.
Wirecard admits €1.9B is missing. CEO arrested. Company insolvent.
What ERR Would Have Shown
The FT’s investigative reporting on Wirecard began in 2015. By 2019, KPMG had been brought in for a special audit that found €1B in trust accounts could not be verified. Short sellers were publicly citing fraud indicators. ERR would have flagged the convergence of adverse media (sustained, multi-year), auditor concerns, and regulatory investigation 24 months before the June 2020 collapse. The signals were loud — the market chose not to listen.
Current Portfolio Matches
No current portfolio companies match this pattern.