German finance minister, auditors faulted in Wirecard probe

German lawmakers examining the collapse of the payment processing company Wirecard have accused the country’s finance minister and auditors Ernst & Young of numerous oversight failings

BERLIN -- German lawmakers presenting a report Tuesday into the collapse of the payment processing company Wirecard accused the country's finance minister and auditors Ernst & Young of numerous oversight failings. Wirecard filed for protection from creditors through insolvency proceedings last year after admitting that 1.9 billion euros ($2.3 billion) supposedly held in trust accounts in the Philippines probably didn’t exist. The company’s former chief executive, Markus Braun, is being investigated on suspicion of criminal fraud. Interpol has issued a red notice for Wirecard’s former chief operating officer, Jan Marsalek, on allegations of “violations of the German duty on securities act and the securities trading act, criminal breach of trust (and) especially serious case of fraud.” The nine-month parliamentary probe that concluded this week immediately weighed upon Germany's upcoming election, with both opposition parties and Chancellor Angela Merkel's Union bloc heavily criticizing the role played by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz in the affair. Scholz is the center-left Social Democrats' candidate to replace Merkel in the Sept. 26 vote.