Wirecard’s Missing Billions Forces Out CEO, Panics Lenders

Shares collapse for second day, lenders considering advice
Philippine banks say German payments firm isn’t a client

WATCH: Two Asian banks denied any relationship with Wirecard and one referred to “falsified documents” and forged signatures.Markets: European Open.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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By Clarissa Batino, Sarah Syed, and Jan-Patrick Barnert

June 19, 2020 at 6:14 AM UTC

Updated on

June 19, 2020 at 2:45 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Markus Braun’s almost two decades as Wirecard AG’s chief executive officer ended after accusations about the company’s accounting culminated in a shock disclosure that it was unable to locate 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion).

James Freis has been appointed interim CEO, the German payments company said in a short statement Friday. A recent hire and former compliance executive at Deutsche Boerse AG, Freis was only named as a member of the management board on Thursday.