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The collapse of the listed German FinTech miracle Wirecard is still making high political waves. The regulator BaFin is at the center of criticism for not acting properly in this affair. The Wirecard fraud took place under the sleepy regulatory eyes of BaFin employees. Some employees actually used the Wirecard crisis and possibly insider information to speculate privately with its shares. At least four BaFin employees have been exposed as Wirecard speculators; one of them was fired as of November 30.
The special commissioner, who is supposed to investigate the private Wirecard transactions of BaFin employees, has reported all four cases to the regulator’s HR department for further investigation. It is not yet clear whether there will be further consequences. This emerges from a parliamentary motion filed by FDP MP Frank Schaeffler, which is available to the German Handelsblatt and was first reported by the “Rheinische Post”.
BaFin had appointed a special commissioner a few weeks ago after it became known that employees of the authority had been trading in Wirecard shares and derivatives with conspicuous frequency. This had caused quite a stir politically. While the former CEO Markus Braun is in pre-trial detention and denies any wrongdoing his former fellow board member Jan Marsalek is still on the run. Evidently, the missing €2 billion have not been found yet.
Source: Handelsblatt
