The major German bank is trying to recover its losses from the Wirecard bankruptcy in court.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt Commerzbank wants to recover losses of around 200 million euros after the Wirecard bankruptcy. The Frankfurt financial institution has filed a lawsuit against the Wirecard auditor EY in the past few weeks, as a spokeswoman for the bank confirmed on Thursday.
EY had checked and certified the balance sheets of the Munich payment processor for years, while there were already indications of irregularities at Wirecard in media reports and from investors. First, “Manager Magazin” reported on the bank’s lawsuit against EY. Since the claims of injured parties and other creditors against Wirecard exceed the insolvency estate, some are trying to take recourse against the auditors.
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The bankruptcy of the payment processor Wirecard is one of the biggest financial scandals in Germany. Wirecard collapsed in June 2020 when it became known that the company’s coffers were missing 1.9 billion euros. According to the public prosecutor, Wirecard boss Markus Braun and other top managers are said to have calculated the actually unprofitable payment service provider with invented billions in sales in order to deceive investors and lenders. Brown has denied the allegations.
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The long-time auditor EY is faced with a flood of lawsuits after the collapse. He did not want to comment on Commerzbank’s lawsuit. Private investors have been trying to assert civil claims against EY since 2020, a spokesman said.
“All first-instance court decisions that have already been made in this context confirm EY’s position: there are no claims against EY for damages.”
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