German lawmakers grilling Merkel, ministers in fraud scandal
Legislators in Germany are questioning Chancellor Angela Merkel and her ministers as part of an investigation into a fraud scandal involving German payments firm Wirecard.
Last year, Wirecard, a German payment processor and financial services provider, filed for bankruptcy after it admitted that 1.9 billion euros had gone missing from its accounts.
In the wake of the shocking announcement, former CEO Markus Braun and a number of other high-ranking executives of Wirecard — once a rising star in the booming FinTech sector — were arrested on fraud and money laundering charges.
On Thursday, lawmakers will grill Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who has described the Wirecard scandal as “unparalleled” in Germany, in relations to the case. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has already appeared before the parliamentary committee for questions.
German legislators are currently probing the political and regulatory failings that paved the way for Wirecard to cheat without detection for years, with critics saying that early warning signs were ignored.
The scandalous collapse of the firm came under special scrutiny at an awkward time for Merkel’s ruling conservative party and its Social Democratic (SPD) coalition partners, just five months before general elections.
The outgoing chancellor will be questioned about her alleged role in the scandal on Friday, after it emerged that she had promoted Wirecard on a visit to China in September 2019, when the firm was eyeing a foray into the market of the world’s second-largest economy and as journalists were already expressing doubts about Wirecard’s books.
According to Frank Schaeffler, a lawmaker from the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) who is on the probing committee, Merkel should ask herself whether “promoting Wirecard was really appropriate or whether her office should not have looked into the warning signs earlier.”
In a midway report back in March, legislators of the committee slammed what they described as “a culture of non-responsibility” and said that financial authorities and political leaders had “well-founded indications of criminal behavior at Wirecard.”
Some of those responsible have already lost their jobs, including former Bafin chief Felix Hufeld, who was relieved of his duties in January.
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